Say what you will about the long Democratic primary season, a clear winner has emerged. I refer, of course, not to Obama or Clinton, but to those who patiently wait their turn in line without front-cutting, like Indiana and Oregon. For once the crowds have not gone home before the trio of obscure stragglers—Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota—at last crosses the finish line still going strong.

Brassy California, elbowing and bullying its way to the front of the line, is now irrelevant. If we had been patient, the crowning glory could have been ours come Tuesday. We may have avoided the robo-calls, glossy hit pieces cramming our mailboxes, huge rallies snarling traffic.

We’ve missed out on making history. Serves us right.

Meanwhile, Florida and Michigan sit in Saturday detention. They couldn’t just be first in line but had to break into the gym for front-row seats at the basketball playoffs. Will the principals suspend them, make them pick up the trash around campus, or, worried by the litigious nature of bullies’ parents, let them go with a plea not to do it again?

Maybe writing on the whiteboard a thousand times, “I am sorry to miss the playoffs because I broke into the gym” would suffice.

The meek might inherit the earth after all.

Of course, inheriting the earth at this particular moment could be more punishment than reward. But for now, let’s savor the bully’s comeuppance. Ever wondered why you’re such a sap as people cut in front of you at the checkout line? Ever slowed down rather than gunned the accelerator to let another car merge? Ever soothed crying children who must wait another round to clamber onto the Tilt-a-Whirl because they were trampled in the crush? Then step out of the wings and into the limelight. This curtain call’s for you.

You deserve a standing ovation.

By Lorrie Goldin

Labels: Lorrie Goldin

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