Will Someone Provide Some Serious Political Coverage of the State

The Tennessean, which has turned strangely indefensible editorial decisions into a way of life, today features on its front page a major article speculating on what a Presidential race between Fred Thompson and Al Gore would mean for the state. Of course, there have been articles in the New York press about a possible all New York matchup between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Rodham Clinton, but, while that speculation is also grossly premature, at least those two individuals have both entered the race for their repective parties' nominations and are arguably frontrunners in those races. Neither Mr. Thompson nor Mr. Gore have officially entered the race, though the former has all but announced that he is in. For his part, Mr. Gore has not completely ruled out running, but he appears to believe that the American political system is too ridden with stupidity to appreciate his gifts.

Nonetheless, that today's article would even be written before either candidate has entered the race and over half a year before the Iowa caucuses is questionable. That it would be featured so prominently on the front page is indefensible. Additionally, the writers of the piece provide the worst simile to appear in any political news feature seen by this blogger this year. They write of Messrs. Thompson and Gore, "Their combined buzz is resonating through the nation like a brood of 17-year cicadas...."

That is just awful.