There’s a saying in the hockey world that a team on the brink of elimination and that has lost the will to fight is ready to break out the golf clubs. In the late 1990’s, when I was close friends with a member of the Boston Bruins, I learned that this saying is literally true. After the Bruins staved off elimination in Game 5 of a series that they trailed 3-1, I walked out of the Fleet Center with my friend and one of his teammates. They reminded each other with a measure of disappointment that they would have to call their friend at Charles River Country Club and let him know that they wouldn’t be making it to the course the next day; they instead had to head off to Buffalo where the Sabres would finally put their season out of its misery. After re-watching last night’s debate, I’ve become convinced that both Romney and Giuliani are ready to break out their proverbial golf clubs. For the first several months of the campaign, Mitt and Rudy were the field’s most active and aggressive debaters. Last night, each was oddly passive. Given their precarious situations and their common need for a breakthrough performance, it was odd that neither one seemed to be trying particularly hard last night. The Thompson campaign also has its back against the wall, and Fred showed an appropriate sense of urgency. I’m not trying to psychoanalyze either Mitt or Rudy. It’s just easy to imagine that for both men, the campaign has become an unsatisfying grind. Both have suffered repeated body blows. Rudy’s riding a downward wave and seemingly headed to asterisk status. Romney has suffered defeats in the two states he worked so hard to win. While neither man will go all weepy on television over their plight like another famous candidate, they are proud men and the losing is probably eating a hole in each of their guts. Not long ago, both Rudy and Mitt probably found the campaign exhilarating. It’s hard to imagine it being anything other than an unpleasant slog for them right now. If they are in fact looking forward to breaking out their golf clubs, you can hardly blame them.
