Johnny Say Relax

We love the presidential election cycle as much as the next blog, but the never-ending battle between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is slowly wearing us down. It’s gotten so bad that some have turned to former scapegoat Al Gore to restore the peace in the party.

But it is Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry who hopes to restore order.

Kerry told expert Mitt Romney provocateur Glen Johnson that everybody needs to calm down about the ongoing Democratic nomination fight.

“Let the campaign play out,” Kerry said. “I think everybody is too anxious and jittery. It’s going to work out. There’s going to be a decision. The people are going to speak, and I’m confident that all of the issues — including Florida and Michigan — are going to be resolved.”

We’d like to believe him, but this is the guy whose slow reaction to those who questioned his military service gave us the term “swift-boating” and a second Bush term. John McCain is playing This Is Your Life around America while Obama and Clinton are in the midst of a political cage match. It might not be the end of the Democratic party as some have said, but shouldn’t we be a little worried about what the infighting means for November?

Despite the kind words from Kerry, things aren’t going very well for Clinton today. Chief strategist Mark Penn left the Clinton campaign after it was revealed that he met with the Columbian government to talk about a free trade agreement that his candidate opposes.

Penn’s meeting with the Colombian ambassador had nothing to do with the presidential campaign and was related to his work for Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, a public relations firm where Penn is chief executive. But the meeting rankled labor union activists, who questioned whether the meeting undermined Clinton’s pro-labor message at a time when she must hold on to the working-class vote.

As Jezebel points out, at least Obama didn’t pay Sam Power $10 million to do something stupid. (Oh, Sam. We can’t stay mad at you. Call us!)