So what? I don’t get it. This is a presidential campaign, the singular moment in each of the candidate’s lives so far. Everything is in play. It’s not a run for high school student council, after all.

Imagine the ego one must have to believe they not only could but should be president of the United States. Thinking you’re good looking, or smart, or “special” or “precious” is nothing compared to the sense of self importance necessary for a run at the most important job in the world.

Family is being sacrificed, almost tossed under the bus. I know how much I enjoyed going to my daughters’ soccer games, band concerts, police department ceremonies and school graduations at every level as I watched them become young women. I know how much I enjoy those occasional spontaneous get-togethers over a grill with burgers and potato salad, or for a Sunday morning brunch in my kitchen with them. Simple pleasures, indescribable joy, all of which is being denied for the very most part to those who choose to embark on their improbable journeys to the White House.

Imagine, then, what else candidates are willing, or called upon, to do on that journey, the things they have to say, the people they have to spend time with, the inane conversations they must have with hangers-on, or “klingons” as I used to call them when I made a living in politics. Time vampires everywhere, sucking life out of you until you are bone weary, and yet sustained by that ego, that drive to survive and succeed, that surety you are the one for the task.

Imagine the incredibly ballsy act of asking people for millions of dollars in campaign contributions. What do you think it takes to raise $35 million in one month to sustain a campaign? Some of those conversations are anything but inane, for sure, and the larger the donation to be made, the more intricate the secret handshakes are. Decoder rings and winks are the staple of those chats.

Imagine all of that. Then, read today’s news.

OMG! Hillary Clinton told Bill Richardson that Barack Obama could not win the general election. Can you believe that? Imagine the arrogance of that statement. How dare she? Who does she think she is?

Show of hands . . . who’s really surprised by this? Really, now, who? What did you expect her to say? Come on, people, these two are running for the office of president of the United States. If they really didn’t believe they deserved it, didn’t really believe they could do a better job than their opponents, they do not deserve to be in the race. They simply wouldn’t belong.

So what, I say. This isn’t news, and shouldn’t be. Does it belong on the front page of any newspaper? Over 4000 of our brothers and sisters have been killed in the Iraq war; millions of people went to bed hungry last night; our economy is facing a recession; Mr. Happy in the White House is oblivious to you and me; and there is not enough space in this column for the rest of what is truly important in the news today and far more deserving of front page space.

If you don’t think Barack Obama feels the same way about Hillary’s chances in the general against McCain, you need to assess your degree of mindfulness in this year of presidential politics. Of course he does, and perhaps he’s already spoken those words out loud. I’d be surprised if he hasn’t. That’s not news-worthy, either.