This is a case of dueling columnists.

Paul Krugman says in his column today that “most of the venom is coming from supporters of Barack Obama, who want their hero or nobody. His campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality.”

Writing a day earlier, Krugman’s fellow liberal on The New York Times Op-Ed page, Frank Rich, said “Hillary Clinton’s show on the Hallmark Channel was a preview of how nastily the Clintons will fight, whatever the collateral damage to the Democratic Party.”

As commenter Todd Drew of Yankees for Justice pointed out, Krugman uncharacteristically failed to offer any examples of how the Obama campaign and supporters were doing what he said they were doing. Rich, meanwhile, cited chapter and verse about the Clintons’ perfidies, along with refutations from numerous and credible sources.

“The campaign’s other most potent form of currency remains its thick deck of race cards,” Rich wrote, adding later: “Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign’s attempt to drive white voters away from Mr. Obama by playing the race card has backfired. His white vote tally rises every week.”

These are good men, Rich and Krugman. Are they caught in the same dilemma facing every other voter in the nation, specifically figuring out who to chose among two equally competent candidates who, despite the similarities of their positions, have different attributes and different vision how to go about governing the nation?

My friend Todd Drew over at Yankees for Justice has a new post up that is just dynamite. I envy him his tone, his perfect pitch, and this post is just exemplary. Todd was at a book signing last night where Jimmy Breslin signed his new book, the Good Rat.

Todd, a devoted Breslin reader from way back, got in a few questions and got a few good laughs out of Jimmy who actually engaged him.

Todd is a friend of mine. His blog is a must read for me. He recently posted to a different site. It’s a great piece, called “Gang’s All Here,” about many of the the characters that people his blog.

I posted a piece about Barack Obama a couple of days ago. I got a couple of comments from Todd Drew of the Yankees for Justice blog (great blog) and one of his readers. Here’s what they said and my reply:

Todd Drew said…

There are a lot of liberals that think the Democratic Party is not liberal enough for them anymore. Comments like this from one of the Party’s up-and-coming leaders only strengthens that belief.

January 21, 2008 8:05 AM

JoeyBoy said…

Greetings, I came over from Yankees for Justice. I like your commentary.

I had not seen those Reagan comments before. I like Obama, but if he thinks ANYTHING Reagan did is going to play with people like me he is sorely mistaken.

January 21, 2008 12:27 PM

Michael O. Allen said…

Joeyboy

Thanks and welcome. I hope to have posted more but I caught a flu bug and have been bed-ridden.

On the post, I love politics and I really, really want to like Obama. Comments like the one about Reagan (which I think is tactical but I don’t understand the tactic) is what’s keeping me from coming fully on board. Like Todd said, he’s a real bright star of the Democratic Party. The question is, where does he want to take the party?

I hope it’s not in the direction that Reagan took the nation. Reagan did real and lasting damage.

Thanks again. Michael

I guess you could say I like a lot of things–Soccer, the Yankees, Soccer, theater, Soccer, movies, Soccer, ‘em, Soccer, Soccer, Soccer, Soccer. Anyway, I love this blog!