"Mutual Assured Destruction" Redivivus

That's Tim Russert's pointed description for this phase of the Democrats' campaign.

Starting with some practice jabs this morning:

"We want to start with the release of tax returns," [Obama advisor David] Axelrod said. "Sen Clinton has been very elusive in this campaign."

"There is no reason she cannot realease her 2006 returns. Talk about change you can Xerox. You can Xerox your tax returns," he said. "She has been a habitual non-discloser on this and other issues."

Followed by:

Statement from Howard Wolfson, [Senator Clinton's] Communications Director

Faced with many legitimate questions about Senator Obama’s long-time relationship with indicted political fixer Tony Rezko, the Obama campaign has chosen to lash out at Senator Clinton. . . .

. . . .Instead of making false attacks, we urge Senator Obama to release all relevant financial and other information related to indicted political fixer Tony Rezko.

I amaze myself with my fascination with this stuff. As the possibility that any party will nominate a candidate I could whole-heartedly support (or support at all without a sore conscience) vanishes to zero, I become more and more intoxicated with all the political to-ing and fro-ing. Not the issues, mind. There's very little of that sort of discussion anyway, and when there is, it's impossible to tell if any of these folks are telling the truth. But the political positioning is absorbing, a sort of year long dance or fencing match.

It's making it very hard to pay sufficient attention to the baseball season even though spring training is upon us.