This and That

Today, Barack Obama expects to win the so-called Potomac Primaries in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. There's some thought that an unstoppable tsunami is cresting, and even Clinton supporters say privately that she must win big in Ohio and Texas to remain in the race. I'm less certain of the tsunami theory. As of now, Obama's campaign reminds me of the football team that puts together some impressive wins early in the season, struggles for a couple of games, then hits its stride and mows down the weak middle part of its schedule. Tough late season road games loom, though, and stand as the true test of the team's mettle. Ohio and Texas have, respectfully, large concentrations of blue-collar workers and Latinos, key parts of the Clinton constituency that Obama has appealed to with limited success.

The Justice Department has the time and resources to investigate Roger Clemens, but won't make the effort to determine whether or not waterboarding is torture...In yesterday's review of There Will Be Blood, I neglected one of the film's most compelling aspects: Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's evocative score. It's a string-fed melange of crescendos and delicate violins emerging from an atonal primordial ooze of cellos and basses. Original and compelling...Early polling shows Obama leading McCain and Clinton tied with him, but let's face it: At this point, it's meaningless. Too much can happen between now and next summer, and no candidate has had a chance to introduce himself or herself to the electorate at large...The players are coming! The players are coming!