Well, it's as good as poetry, as true to life as the instincts of war.
The first blast coming from the campaign of John McCain, reacting to the announcement of Joe Biden as the Dems' VP candidate, is taken from the arsenal of the Clintons.
The McCain ad reruns a supposedly journalistic query put to Joe Biden, once Barack Obama's opponent for the presidential nomination, now Obama's choice for running mate.
[The questioner was ABC journalist George Stephanopoulos, who -- it must be noted -- once served as spokesman for Bill Clinton and owes his fame to the Clintons.]
Stephanopoulos [see photo] asked Biden, during a debate among candidates for the Democratic nomination, whether Biden stood by something he had said previously about Obama:
"You were asked, 'Is he ready?' You said, 'I think he can be ready but right now, I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'"
Biden, at the time, stood by the comment.
But these are different times, of course, and Biden has been showing in recent weeks that he will be a viscious attack dog on Obama's behalf.
The fact worthy of fiction is this: that the first cannon shot at Obama-Biden is via Stephanopoulos, linked forever to the Clintons.
This is occurring as we wonder whether the Clintons will try to sabotage Obama and Biden's very good chances for victory.
There is reason to be concerned.
[For an earlier post on George Stephanopoulos as journalist during the campaign, see "Was ABC Debate the Death Knell of American Journalism?"]