Memorial Day parade, Cambridge

Today, Memorial Day, was originally established to honor Union soldiers fighting to abolish the kidnapping, sale and enslavement of Africans and preserve the united state. It’s the first Memorial Day in the history of America that a minority stands a good chance of becoming president.

So it was quite unusual last week when Hillary Clinton tried to cast Barack Obama in the role of the Confederate South:

… [Despite losing the popular vote, Hillary Clinton] invoked the Declaration of Independence… the abolition of slavery… the sacrifice of soldiers… and the Voting Rights Act [in claiming she should become the Democratic nominee]…

… the White House was awarded to Bush, the half-million-vote loser across the nation, by a 5-4 Supreme Court diktat. The injustice of Bush v. Gore was obvious at the time; its sequel has proved it to be a tragedy… the popular vote… carries immense moral and political weight with Democrats, for whom the 2000 travesty is a station of the cross and vote-counting a kind of sacrament… [Clinton] invaded the Democratic sacristy, picked up the chalice, and flourished it like a club… [New Yorker]

Hendrik Hertzberg goes on to compare Hillary Clinton to Dubya:

In an eerie echo of the [’00 Florida] “Brooks Brothers riot” … Clinton supporters “are planning to swarm the capital in a little over a week to pressure Democratic Party leaders” … In 2000, the candidate most willing to deploy principles and trash them, according to the tactical needs of the moment, was awarded the prize. [New Yorker]

Personally I look forward to hearing Taps played for Clinton the candidate, the metaphorically fallen.