Top Dogs

There are winners to celebrate this morning. Top dogs in politics and—who can resist 'em—in dogdom. Uno the beagle won the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last night, and hurray for the underdog. Although as the hours of Westminster played out, it was obvious he was the crowd favorite and the media darling. Salut! to Uno.

And sorry, politicians, you play second fiddle today. Maybe because the primary season, as important as those wins are, seems like an avalanche of primaries and caucuses coming at us pell-mell like a runaway train. But a shout-out to Barack Obama and his team today, continuing to pile up impressive wins, this time in the Potomac Primaries. And to Donna Edwards, the upstart candidate who defeated her incumbent opponent. Kudos to the Democrats for rallying stellar numbers of turnout. And yes, even the Republicans have awakened and taken notice and are turning out to vote.

We, the people will be the winners come November if this pattern sustains and the movement for change continues to grow and grow. We need, desperately, to be the winners.

Because there are men and women to be brought home from Iraq. And there must be homes for them to come back to. Healthy homes. This morning on the Imus Show, Senator Chris Dodd soberly discussed the dire state of the housing industry. This isn't just a subprime mess. This isn't just a regional mess, like the California housing bust a few years ago. This is, says Dodd, the worst national housing crisis since the Great Depression.

And its ripple effect is flowing through the entire economy. When a home mortgage is foreclosed, everybody in the neighborhood loses value on their own home. When the subprime market goes bust, even the prime-est of borrowers has a tougher time getting credit.

How did we get here? Seven years of no oversight, no cops on the beat, no guard dogs at the gate, no controls for a runaway pack of predators. Bad lending practices luring in the foolish and the naive. Dodd laid out the grim projection for the housing market that will prevail long after BushCo hightails it back to Texas. We'll be cleaning up his garbage for a long time, and it will be hard work. And in a year or two, don't let the rightwing barkers get away with saying it's not his crap.

So what is government, anyway? Is it dog eat dog? I don't think so. It is the team, working together, covering the Iditarod miles as champions, working at Westminster in spirited competition for best of show.

And showing us in primary after primary that underdogs can win...with a plan and a vision and championship attitude.