War of the Roses

Ruth Marcus has recently been winning back my confidence after a stint that is hopefully winding down as the Washington Post's resident scold.

And she has a good suggestion for the two Democratic nominees, and really all politicians.

Too soon to stop this movie

"The other day, Obama compared the primary season to a movie that's gone on for too long. Like Clinton, I don't mind a good epic.

This one, though, reminds me of "The War of the Roses," the Kathleen Turner-Michael Douglas movie about a couple who build a beautiful house but manage to destroy it -- and themselves -- in the course of an ugly divorce. This would cast Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in the Danny DeVito role as the divorce lawyer powerless to stop the carnage.

Maybe both candidates should rent the DVD. Dean, too. They need the break -- and they might learn something."

I agree that the contest should go on. But a night with the War of the Roses might end the bloodletting, which serves no purpose other at all except to reinforce our most destructive tendencies.

War of the Roses is a pretty good parable for all politics, with all of its self-destructive, ugly, and tragic tendencies and consequences.

Perhaps everyone in American and international politics should take a moment to watch that film and have a long hard think about the romanticism of force and aggression to resolve difficult problems.