<i>"Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser."</i>

Vince Lombardi said that.  And it’s true – if losing doesn’t bother your soul, you probably won’t be motivated to become a winner.

And yet, losing without grace seems to be at odds with the national culture.  That is the reason that people noticed when Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick left the field before the Super Bowl ticked off it’s final second.  It was deemed poor sportsmanship.

I was pondering these thoughts after seeing this article:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/12/clinton-still-no-congratulations-for-obama/

which begins:

<blockquote>For the second election night in a row, Hillary Clinton failed to acknowledge or congratulate Barack Obama after he won the day in dominating fashion.</blockquote>

As the article points out, it’s not demanded to concede and congratulate, but it’s certainly common and even expected.

Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan sat on opposite sides of the political spectrum and yet enjoyed each other’s company socially and worked together for America.

Barack Obama is part of the same party as Hillary Clinton and a fellow Senator.  Hillary Clinton should be able to show statesmanship here and act in a professional manner.  Decorum is part of the political game, too.

I am reminded of another quote:

<i>"The greatness comes not when things always go good for you. But the greatness comes when you're really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments when sadness comes. Because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."</i>

That comes from Richard Nixon.  The quote serves as a means to gauge whether Hillary Clinton is truly “ready on day one”:  how does she respond when she has taken some knocks, some disappointments?