I heard a great idea on one of the blathering pundit shows this weekend, but I must admit I can't remember which one, so I can't credit it properly (apologies to whomever uttered the idea in the first place). In a nutshell: Obama and Clinton should declare a cease-fire between the two camps, and then try to convince the remaining superdelegates (and remaining voters) to vote for them -- based on how effectively they can beat up on John McCain.

That is the "prize" they're both fighting for, remember -- the chance to face off against McCain in the general election. So why not compete with each other on who is the best candidate to do so? And why shouldn't this competition show each candidate's strategy for doing so now, instead of later?

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We haven't done a contest here in a while, so I'm going to open the betting window today on the outcome of the Democratic race. To play, just post a comment with the date and the outcome you predict will happen.

As an example, here is my entry: Hillary Clinton does great in Pennsylvania, but loses both North Carolina and Indiana, and drops out the next day.

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Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been using the following line on the campaign trail for quite some time now: "Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary does." It is used to show that the ultra-wealthy pay a smaller percentage of the money they make to the government than an average employee does. Warren Buffett himself was the originator of this line, pointing out that it is silly for him -- an extremely wealthy man -- to be taxed at a lower rate than his secretary.

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I sometimes wonder if the "reporters" covering the presidential candidates out on the campaign trail ever bother to read the front page of the newspapers, or whether they just flip to the campaign he-said/she-said stories about whatever trivial issue is being exploited in the press that day. Because time and time again during this campaign, large and substantive issues have reared their heads in American foreign and domestic policy (and politics), only to be completely and utterly ignored by these "reporters" -- who are being paid handsome sums of money to ask the candidates about such issues.

Take China, for instance. And Tibet. And Taiwan. And the Olympics. And Darfur. And lead in toys. And poison cat food. And human rights. And censorship of the media. And the American public debt being financed by the Chinese. And the dollar and the yuan.

Anybody know what Hillary Clinton feels on this complicated issue? Or Obama? Anyone?

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Last September, I wrote an article about Iraq titled "Watch Basra." Back then, I wrote:

I have to admit that I have no magic crystal ball. I cannot predict which outcome will happen in Basra from such a distance, and at such remove. I truly have no idea how it will happen, or how it will be presented to Americans on their nightly news… or (perhaps more importantly) how it will all be spun by the politicians. Nobody outside of the U.K. seems to be paying much attention to Basra. That may change soon, as conditions on the ground warrant.

But while I admit to no prophetic powers myself, I am smart enough to make one major prognostication:

Watch Basra.

Because as goes Basra may go the entire Iraq debate in Washington.

Today, the American media (print, at least) has roused itself to report on what is happening in Basra. Whether the television news will pay any attention or just run a one-sentence filler is still to be determined: ("Some people got killed in Basra today. But enough of that, on to March Madness news...").

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Last week, on the fifth anniversary of American military involvement in Iraq, anti-war rallies were held in various locations around the country. These rallies, inevitably, got short shrift in the mainstream media, which could barely rouse itself from its somnolence to recognize the anniversary. Today seemed like a good day to run photos of the rallies in Washington, D.C. -- the day that the official total of American military deaths in Iraq tops 4,000.

These photos were provided exclusively to ChrisWeigant.com from our intrepid roving photojournalist Eric Varela, who is on assignment in the nation's capital where he attended some of the rallies and demonstrations.

[Apologies in advance if the photos take a while to download. Be patient.]

[Reprinting or posting these photos is allowed, but only with proper credit and only to sites which provide content to the public for free. For reprint and copyright information, please see our Photo Reprint Policy page on ChrisWeigant.com.]

March of the Dead. With the names of dead Iraqi civilians around their necks, they marched around the city from their starting point in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Like the hapless characters in Waiting For Godot, America sits and watches in fascination as the Democratic nomination race grinds into yet another calendar season. At this point, it is looking like it may well go unresolved all the way to the Democratic National Convention in late August.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Nancy Pelosi and all the other undeclared superdelegates have it within their power to call "Palomino!" on this whole process. Because there are enough of them left to swing the contest to either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. They should do so now.

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Every election season in American politics, speculation begins in late summer what the other side's "October Surprise" is going to be. What event will happen, what subject will be brought up during the final phase of the campaign, one month before everyone votes? Well, this year Democrats don't need to wonder any more. Because the Republicans have basically announced in advance what they hope to ride into office this year: provincial elections in Iraq.

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Barack Obama gave a speech on race yesterday. He pretty much had to, as the media pressure on him to do so was becoming overwhelming to his campaign. The media had already successfully pressured one candidate (Mitt Romney) to give a speech on his religion (since he is Mormon), and after the comments of his pastor were plastered on the news for days, Obama needed to address the issue. Which, from almost all accounts, he successfully did. But even if he had given the Sermon on the Mount on the issue, and even if every black and white American immediately got over their racial antipathy toward each other tomorrow, this should be seen as only the opening conversation in what could be a long discussion.

To his credit, Barack Obama did deliver a great speech on how he walks the minefield of race and racial politics in American life. As Jon Stewart said, he talked to Americans as if "they were adults." That alone is pretty rare in any campaign. But whether this speech is going to change anyone's mind in the voting booth remains to be seen. My guess is that Obama will gain a certain degree of respect from a wide swath of the American public on the issue, but it probably won't change many minds, one way or the other. Because how we see race in this country is pretty deeply ingrained. Which is the whole problem Barack's speech addressed, from the black and white side of the coin.

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Barack Obama gave a speech today about race.

It's getting rave reviews, so it must have been a real humdinger of a speech. But I have not had a chance to actually see his speech yet, so I'm going to refrain from commenting on the larger issues the speech addressed, for today. I apologize for the delay. I also apologize, because this is going to be a short column.

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