The triumph of appearance

Interesting news:

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A new poll Monday showed Democrat Hillary Clinton losing a general election to all top Republican White House hopefuls, in a new sign that biting political attacks may be harming her 2008 campaign.

The Zogby International hypothetical 2008 matchup, reversing months of Clinton dominance over the Republican field, came as her camp battled in an ugly new spat with her top Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Funny thing is, it's the primary season, in which the candidates are - theoretically - running against other candidates from their own party. I don't understand how that shifts D vs. R match-ups so much.

Aravosis at Americablog has a thought:

Then again, the GOP candidates have all been beating up on Hillary the past few weeks, whereas the Democrats are still focused on beating each other.

Get that? The Republicans, even in their primary, are running against the specter of a Democrat - which is akin to softening a target by mortar before invading on foot. One might also call it working the refs by complaining in a practice scrimmage about the other team. The Dems, of course, have no clue about what's going on.

It's a brilliant strategy, really, and it only works if the public and the media let them get away with it - and we are.

It's also a tremendous showing of what happens when party/partisan loyalty becomes paramount; it's almost like all Republicans are operating on the belief that any Republican is better than any Democrat, no matter what other qualifiers are present. Forget about governance or issues - we've got the letter after their name to consider!

Society of the spectacle, indeed.