Losing, in a general sort of way, sucks. When you put your all on the line, go for something you want so bad you could taste, when you have in your sights something that you feel you were destined for. Watching your dreams and hopes dissolve into a puddle of lost hope, it hurts.

In rare cases, people with wisdom see the writing on the wall and devise a way to bow out gracefully, saving the pride and respect and preserving the dream for a later date, when the stars are perhaps aligned more in their favor. Unfortunately, the majority of people walking around today lack wisdom and foresight. Instead, when they feel the ground crumbling beneath them, they react.  In most cases, those reactions are desperate attempts to regain their footing, painful attempted to lash out and dig holes at beneath others, so all sink together. Nowhere are these reactions of desperation more apparent than within the American political system. Sure, the political system in most countries is full of bullshit and mudslinging. Were all familiar with the news images and YouTube footage of parliamentary proceedings dissolving into fisticuffs in Latin America and Asia. We know the story of Dick Cheney cussing another elected official out a few years back. We also know that when its election season, prepare yourself for mudslinging and bullshit rhetoric of epic proportions, especially if the races are close.

This year, the Democratic race is particularly close. Wasn’t always the case; early on former first lady and NY senator Hillary Clinton was the front runner in a race filled with moderately able colleagues, none of any particular shine or notoriety or a chance in hell of winning the ticket. Her only true competition was in fact a young first term senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. Her people, her campaign- didn’t truly take him seriously as a threat. She had it in the bag. Then actual voting started and the shit really hit the fan. She lost her front runner status. Barack was no longer her only competition, but he was pretty much beating her at every turn. He was the front runner.  The end was coming closer and she wasn’t standing in the winners circle.

So the attacks began. In all fairness, the attacks were coming from both camps, neither candidate stood innocent of slinging. However, it was becoming more apparent that the attacks from Camp Clinton were growing more vitriolic, dirtier. They were becoming desperate ploys to tarnish the Golden Boy image that Barack had developed within the American public by playing into the fear mongering of terrorism and change that the Republican Party had so carefully y cultivated the past 8 years.

It’s like the crazy bitch who gets herself knocked up, just to keep a man (fyi—that won’t work honey, get a clue) or that botch made business man who stays cutting off his competitors and underlings at every turn (gonna be a hard fall). Desperation is NEVER a good look.  It’s the look of a loser. Worse- it’s the look of someone who is aware of the fact they’ve already lost, and just want to bring everyone down with them.

There are still 6 months until the Democratic National Convention in August- 6 months where anything can happen from strange victories that may forever be clouded in conspiracy suspicions, to graceful bow outs, to miraculous fence building and teamwork. Or, more likely, it’ll be 6 months of more desperate acts.  That’s a damn shame.