On a chessboard, pieces play out - attacks are launched, defenses countered, and new plans devised for both sides. In the case of expert play, this may take the appearance of mindless moves, but beneath every Knight retreat or King shuffle may be something 3-5 moves down the line that will be crushing, till the next move voids the whole thing and you start over. In this way, the experts play the game.
However, there comes a point where occasionally, one performs a blunder. Perhaps they focus only on one part of the board (or country) instead of envisioning the whole scenario. Imaging a chess game where you only cared what happened on 25% of the squares instead of all 64. Perhaps they spend too long on offense, and overextend themselves, sacrificing valuable pieces for an attack that will fizzle before mate. Perhaps they brought the king out too early ;)
When this happens, or one gains a material imbalance, the experts advise the amateur or novice to go all out, throwing everything into what is probably a losing game. The pundits refer to it as "throwing in the kitchen sink". However, at Grandmaster level it almost never gets to that. The player with the inferior position, resources, and advantages tips over the king, and walks away realizing the game is lost and to postpone resignation is not only defeating, it's an insult to the winner.
This week has seen one campaign throwing in the kitchen sink, digging up questionable photographs of no worth in a tactic right out of Karl Rove's handbook. Their campaign resources have attacked votes of the opposition while insisting at the same time their own candidate's historical decisions are of no consequence, in what is pretty bold hypocrisy, even for politics. Reports of easy wins and grand strategic blows are tossed about in the same manner as Baghdad Bob tossing out reports of the imminent defeat of the Americans.
If this were a chess game between grandmasters, we'd be done. The player with the inferior position in the endgame would wrap this up. But politics is ugly, and the politics of fear, uncertainty, and doubt are the ugliest of all and like the portrait of Dorian Grey, they get uglier the longer they stick around.
And for those of us ready for a new game and tired of the stalling tactics of this one, we eagerly await the resignation of the losing player while applauding the struggle. And we look forward to the setup and beginnings of a new, much more important game, who's delay in starting is only helping preparations for the other side.
But what can I do....well, for the first time, in addition to voting in my first caucus, I have donated my first $100 to a candidate who I believe realizes that this isn't a game, but is about the future of our country, and I wish him the best of luck in TX and OH.
He has already reminded us the race is ours to win if we run it, and I wish him a fast and speedy checkmate to end this round and hope the practice has him warmed up for the next fight.
good luck, Barack.
RB