Herbert, Collins, and Waterston. And this Blogger.

Bob Herbert's NY Times column today said a lot about the Clinton-Obama phenomenon (try pronouncing that, and note that I have put the two surnames in alphabetical order). Namely that it is good news for all that the contenders are dialing down the invective and getting people thinking that two attractive candidates on the same ticket could be twice as compelling to voters as one, and not tearing each other up so badly that the Gruesome Old Party wins again, this time by default.

But Bob also reminded us that the GOP is still out there in the parking lot doing one-arm pushups when it comes to dirty tricks:

"Anyone who thinks the Democrats are a lock to win in November has somehow forgotten about Karl Rove, the right-wing radio network, the hanging chads of 2000, the Swift boat debacle, the intimidation of black voters in Florida, the long lines of Democratic voters standing forlornly in the rain in Ohio, and on and on."

Gail Collins is one of my new favorite columnists. She has wit that is not nihilistic like Mo Dowd's. I lift this from today's column:

Q. "I am an independent and looking for a president with integrity. Should I vote for John McCain or Barack Obama?

[A.] "Didn’t we all swear to stop picking the candidate who would be most fun to go on a picnic with? You’re torn between the guy who’s been against the war from the beginning and the guy who’s willing to stay in Iraq for 100 years? Between the guy who wants to pay for a $50 billion-a-year health care program by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy, and the guy who wants to keep the tax cuts and pay for them by cutting the budget? Get a grip."

There are other questions and answers worth reading there. Take a look.

Law and Order has a new D.A. He is "Jack McCoy," played by Sam Waterston. "Arthur Branch" is out. And so is Fred Thompson. Oh la! And Sam is doing comic spots on Stewart's "Daily Show." Kind of rubbing it in. It works for me, when the butt is a lobbyist turned actor turned senator turned actor turned presidential candidate.

Finally, commentary from this writer on a Clinton-Obama ticket. I think that if Obama is nominated for POTUS, he'll ask Hillary, because he is an idealist. If Hillary gets the nod, she'll ask somebody like Evan Bayh, because she is a pragmatist. Barack will not do anything to get elected, but Hillary will. That's all.