As Barack Obama appears to be pulling away from Hillary Clinton, I am reminded of another classic battle between an insurgency and the establishment, where the establishment was swept away by the new. Yes, I am of course referring to how Hair Metal was swept away by Indie Rock in the '90s. Clearly, Barack Obama is Nirvana to Hillary Clinton's Poison. Nirvana was the band that took the movement mainstream, capitalizing on the ground work laid down by bands such as the Pixies. Similarly, Obama is using Howard Dean's grassroots strategy for a victory against the legendary Clinton political machine. Sometimes movements bubble below the surface as promising but unlikely alternatives, and sometimes they attach themselves to leaders who make their ascendancy appear inevitable. Now Hillary, and the triangulating DLC she represents, are faced with the crushing realization that this is a new time, and that soon they will be left behind. Like the Gods of Hair Metal before them, they may need to rethink their guitar solos and surrender the stage.

While I was writing this I was reminded of a song I wrote after Bush's second inauguration, Long Way Home which I think speaks to the sombre path ahead for Hillary and her failing machine.

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