A capable, experienced candidate well-liked by Democrats runs headlong into a mysterious, almost trans-political force whose supporters just won't listen to reason. Sound familiar?
Well, I'm talking about the 1990 Texas Democratic gubernatorial primary, the one in which Ann Richards beat seasoned former Congressman and state Attorney General Jim Mattox.
Ann and Hillary were friendly. So it's a table-turning circumstance we're seeing here, as Hillary is acting like Mattox did as all his political advantages turned to dust when confronted with a charismatic candidate he didn't believe deserved to win.
Also, the late Richard's popularity isn't helping here like Clinton might have imagined. The problem is, when Hillary took to the national stage, Ann Richards was already standing on it. Ann was the icon for women. They didn't need Hillary the way they had needed Ann. That's just another of the odd and unexpected difficulties Clinton is forced to confront.
Mattox, by the way, was also one of Paul Begala and James Carville's candidates. In fairness, when Mattox refused their disciplined advice and took to hour-by-hour, off the wall attacks on Ann, they backed away from the campaign.
Mattox had been a solid attorney general. There were stories about his heavy-handed fundraising. He was notoriously mean. But his biggest negative was his ongoing negative attacks on Richards.
I get the sense that Clinton's frustration is just like Mattox's in 1990. Voters are simply not being rational by supporting Obama. Rationally, she's the better candidate, she thinks. Choosing against her is choosing against reason itself.
And that frustration is visible in an erratic campaign style, conciliatory at a debate, shouting "shame on you" a day or too later; mocking Obama's supporters as people waiting on a choir to descend from heaven to sing the world to peace.
That Hillary would fall victim to the same sort of disbelieving myopia that plagued Mattox's campaign against her friend Richards presents an odd kind of symmetry.
Mattox this year is supporting Hillary Clinton, the friend of the woman he believes denied him the governorship of Texas.
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