On Tuesday we read this in the Washington Post:

Later, at the University of Virginia, Clinton played guest lecturer for a course taught by Prof. Larry J. Sabato. Clinton spent well over an hour taking questions from students on issues that included the war in Iraq, universal health care, taxes and biofuels.

Students gave her a standing ovation, cheering and snapping photos with their cellphones. Then the whole auditorium seemed to sway, as people in the audience, arms around one another, sang the school’s alma mater.

Our eyes moistened when we read that sweet story.  Heck, we lit a cigarette lighter ourselves and gently rocked back and forth, arms reaching to the sky, in our glass-enclosed nerve center.  We swear we even heard somene behind us yell, “Freebird!”

Alas, another dream destroyed by America’s foremost hope monger.

From today’s Washington Post:

In Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia, 3,918 people voted in the Democratic primary in 2004. On Tuesday, 7,676 votes were cast, and Obama won 75 percent of them.

“The university communities have burgeoned,” said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the school. “They are major growth localities across the state that are attracting a Democratic electorate.”

Today, alas, no one sings the school’s alma mater.  Not even “Freebird.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):

Cornyn, who has not endorsed a presidential candidate, doesn’t expect to befriend McCain anytime soon but said he will happily stump for him as the nominee.

“We’ve had our moments, but we’ve gotten over that and moved on down the road,” Cornyn said. “You’re talking about people who are professionals. You don’t have to link arms and sing ‘Kumbaya’ to get things done.”

We haven’t had one of these in a while, so imagine our glee to read Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post today:

Kumbaya Caucus: One of the most interesting contrasts between last year’s State of the Union address and this year’s has nothing to do with President Bush. It involves the transformed tone of the Democratic response, from partisan lion to post-partisan lamb.

And this, in turn, reflects a schism in Democratic thinking — to what extent to be the party of fighters and to what extent the party of Kumbaya — that is being played out most prominently in the presidential race.

An eagle-eyed loyal Extreme Mortman reader alerts us to today’s New York Times:

Mr. Obama, who aides suggested might be spending too much time reading blogs and newspaper clippings about the campaign, dismissively noted how the Clinton campaign regularly raised that line against him.

“I’ve been amused by seeing some of the commentary out of the Clinton camp, where every time we point out a difference between me and her, they say, ‘What happened to the politics of hope?’ which is just silly,” he said, laughing.

Asked why it was silly, he responded: “The notion that somehow changing the tone means simply that we let them say whatever they want to say or that there are no disagreements and that we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ is obviously not what I had in mind and not how I function.

Barack Obama on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”:

“I’m not naive enough to think that if we all hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ that somehow health care gets solved or education gets solved.”

An eagle-eyed loyal Extreme reader alerts us to today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Robert D. Holsworth, a political analyst at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggested that both Kaine and Republicans can congratulate themselves for the compromise.

“This is a kumbaya moment in which the governor and Democrats can take credit and the Republicans can take credit,” Holsworth said.

Washington Post:

GOP lawmakers were almost giddy as they approved the plan after more than a year of stalemate. One Republican yelled, “Rock-n-roll!” as they prepared to vote. Another reflected on the unusual bipartisan spirit of the day, saying, “Kumbaya.”

“You could have the whole world singing ‘Kumbaya’ in a couple of days, or fighting. I have no idea,” said Delegate Jeffrey M. Frederick, Prince William County Republican. “If there is one thing that I learned in politics is everything is unpredictable.”