Circling the wagons

What a surprise... the three white baby boomer women who lead the 6-member Des Moines Register's editorial board endorsed a white baby boomer woman in the Democratic race today.

It's an exceedingly lame endorsement; they say they essentially picked Hillary because she's not too hot, not too oold.

Beyond their personal appeal, the candidates have outlined ambitious policy proposals on health care, education and rural policy. Yet these proposals do little to help separate the field. Their plans are similar, reflecting a growing consensus in the party about how to approach priority issues.

The choice, then, comes down to preparedness: Who is best prepared to confront the enormous challenges the nation faces — from ending the Iraq war to shoring up America’s middle class to confronting global climate change?

The job requires a president who not only understands the changes needed to move the country forward but also possesses the discipline and skill to navigate the reality of the resistant Washington power structure to get things done.

That candidate is New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As Obama has said repeatedly, being more experienced didn't keep Clinton from making the mistake of backing the Iraq war, the single biggest litmus test of the last few years.

There are reasons beyond race, gender and age that explain why the board chose Hillary, of course--but those commonalities meant Obama was running uphill, as non-white candidates generally are in this country.

And it certainly raises the question of why a tiny rural state that's more than 90% white is serving--along with its sister state, 98% white New Hampshire--as gatekeeper for a country it so little resembles.

Maybe it explains why we keep getting the same old politicians in the White House, experienced at making the same old mistakes; the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire seem to have problems stepping out of their comfort zone, away from their own parochial worldview.

I mean, if Hillary wins by the end of it all it could be nearly 3 decades since we had someone other than a Bush or Clinton running our democracy; maybe Obama should start running against the Clinton-Bush way.

Jeb Bush in '16 anyone?!

Photos of Laura Hollingsworth, Carolyn Washburn and Carol Hunter by Joshua Lott for The New York Times