Yesterday vs. Tomorrow

John McCain says it's too soon for Barack Obama, Obama claims it's too late for McCain and Hillary Clinton is still insisting, against all odds, that the time is just right for her.

Last night, McCain posed the question, "(W)ill we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?"

In doing so, he personified yesterday's politics by distorting Obama's statements about Pakistan and negotiating with America's enemies beyond recognition.

Last night, Obama said, "I revere and honor John McCain's service to this country. He is a genuine American hero. But when he embraces George Bush's failed economic policies, when he says that he is willing to send our troops into another 100 years of war in Iraq, then he represents the policies of yesterday. And we want to be the party of tomorrow. And I'm looking forward to having that debate with John McCain."

Despite another devastating loss in the Wisconsin primary, Hillary Clinton was still holding herself out as the candidate who is in touch with today's realities.

"(Y)ou'll find at HillaryClinton.com all of my positions, everything that I have been working on, because I know what's happening in America," she told a rally in Youngstown, Ohio. "People are struggling...They cannot afford four more years of a president who just doesn't see or hear them at all. They need a president ready on day one to be commander-in-chief, ready to manage our economy, and ready to beat the Republicans in November."

But, after last night's results, it appears the choice will be between Obama and McCain, separated by decades in age and light years apart in their view of the world.

Forget Hillary: Obama's Musharraf Matchup

If Barack Obama thought running against the former First Lady was hard, he now finds himself in a tougher contest with the old pro, Pervez Musharraf.

The President of Pakistan, beleaguered to the point of negotiating a power-sharing arrangement with his arch rival, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is hinting at declaring a state of emergency because of “internal and external threats” to his country.

Explaining the “external threats,” his Minister of Information claims that Obama’s statement last week about going after Al Qaeda "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset (the) Pakistani public."

Musharraf himself is so upset that he changed his mind about attending a meeting this week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and tribal leaders to discuss ways of cleaning out extremist strongholds on both sides of their borders.

Today Senator Obama tried to reassure him: "President Musharraf has a very difficult job, and it is important that we are a constructive ally with them in dealing with al-Qaeda."

If Obama thought Hillary Clinton was playing hardball, he may not have been ready for Musharraf, who has played political games with the Bush Administration for years and managed to hold down his own militants, at least until now.