It's not much of a feud (08/29/2008)

There's been plenty of show at the Democratic National Convention this week but not much in the way of drama.

That's probably why television's talking heads spent so much of the first half of the week building up the Hillary vs. Barack story line.

They didn't have much else to talk about, so they chewed on this slim bit of controversy like dogs going after an old shoe.

Tuesday night should have put an end to that, and if it didn't Wednesday night did.

Hillary Clinton's speech in support of her party's candidate could hardly have been more ringing in its endorsement.

There was nothing half-hearted about it in any way. It was gracious, and it was sincere in its effort to rally the party in support of the nominee.

Yet before the applause had stopped echoing, you could sense the press corps chasing down the vocal Hillary-or-no-one holdouts to get a sound bite in hopes of keeping the story alive.

That worked for about 24 hours, until Wednesday night's dramatic floor appearance by Sen. Clinton and the enthusiastic speech by the former president.

As political conflicts go, this one has been pretty much of a yawner. And both Sen. Clinton and former President Clinton made it clear this week that the differences between their views and those of Republican presumptive nominee John McCain are vastly wider than any intra-party friction.

The story now is the one that matters, with both parties putting forth credible candidates with distinctly different opinions, judgments, and philosophies.

That's the one the country needs to focus on, doing the homework and getting past the noise.

It may not be as much fun for the TV guys as an overblown "feud."

But it's the one that will have the greatest impact on the country's future. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]