As the Democratic primary moves toward deadlock and a brokered convention, the following description of caucuses seems particularly prescient:
`What I was going to say,’ said the Dodo in an offended tone, `was, that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race.’
`What is a Caucus-race?’ said Alice; not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that somebody ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.
`Why,’ said the Dodo, `the best way to explain it is to do it.’ (And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)
First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, (`the exact shape doesn’t matter,’ it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no `One, two, three, and away,’ but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out `The race is over!’ and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, `But who has won?’
This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said, `Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.’
`But who is to give the prizes?’ quite a chorus of voices asked.
`Why, she, of course,’ said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with one finger; and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out in a confused way, `Prizes! Prizes!’
Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, (luckily the salt water had not got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one a-piece all round.
`But she must have a prize herself, you know,’ said the Mouse.
`Of course,’ the Dodo replied very gravely. `What else have you got in your pocket?’ he went on, turning to Alice.
`Only a thimble,’ said Alice sadly.
`Hand it over here,’ said the Dodo.
Dodo presenting thimble.Then they all crowded round her once more, while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, saying `We beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble’; and, when it had finished this short speech, they all cheered.
Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh; and, as she could not think of anything to say, she simply bowed, and took the thimble, looking as solemn as she could.
One interpretation of this Nostradamus-like passage by Lewis Carroll is that the Dodo might be Howard Dean, Obama the mouse, who is gracious at the end of the race, and Senator Clinton Alice, who is equally gracious and accepts a place on the ticket as Vice-President: the thimble she had in her pocket all along. What’s your read?
and hopefully so much damage will not be done to make it impossible to have the gracious ending you fantacize about here.
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p>Clinton is running for President of the United States, Clinton was never running for VP…that notion is truly just fiction.
Both are running for the top spot, neither one will accept the second one, not with the contest so close.
The self-important Dodo is the Democratic Party, who came up with the inane idea of choosing our nominee through this ridiculous process. When the idea blows up in its face, it seeks to shift the blame elsewhere.
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p>Alice is Michigan and Florida, two important parts of the race — as she is the protagonist in the story — who both comes out as losers through their own naivete and others’ calculations.
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p>The thimble is any meaningless compromise extended to those states, even the most valueless of gifts (“maybe we’ll let you stay in Denver during the convention…”)
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p>Elsewhere in this chapter, the mouse is described in the passage as “seemed to be a person of authority among them”. It tries to dry off the group with a boring discourse, and eventually gets fed up with the group and leaves. That of course is Hillary Clinton, who wants Michigan and Florida to get something, anything.
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p>Obama is the Lory, whose role in this tale is to walk around in circles and expect a prize for doing so.
Of course, according to The Annotated Alice, the Dodo was meant to be Carroll, the author, himself. Which, of course, is neither here nor there.
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p>More broadly, perhaps it is worth considering that because it appears Clinton and Obama will duel each other to close to a draw, that the modern primary system has tumbled down the rabbit hole, and left us all in a new political wonderland.
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p>Gore for President, anyone? Personally, I think that would be impossible, considering what strong campaigns Obama and Clinton have run, but stranger things have happened.
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p>Maybe Gore for VP: enough to tip the balance to whichever Presidential candidate gets him?
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p>I think it’s Bill…