In the Asian hinterland and away from the internet for last few days and one or two more.
Nonetheless sending dispatch via Blackberry to post this timely entry in the boiled-frog contest, from reader Alex Frankel. Yes, I know this is not a substitute for the (scientifically flawed) boiled-frog cliche. But still....
You know, if you throw a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President into the middle of March trailing by 150 pledged delegates with just 550 or remaining and with her opponent ahead in most of the remaining states, she would jump out of the race. But if you start that candidate tied in the delegate count the previous December, and then you let her opponent slowly but surely increase his delegate lead week after week, she'll stay in. Instead of jumping out she'll just slowly turn up the heat in the race, oblivious to the fact that she's only burning herself -- and her party.
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James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States and once worked as President Carter's chief speechwriter. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, are the authors of the new book Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, which has been a New York Times best-seller and is the basis of a forthcoming HBO documentary.