Cui Bono?

Turning away, for the moment, from strictly local matters, we're wondering this morning who may benefit and who may come out losers as a result of this morning's big story about John McCain.   Now, you never know what more may come from stories like this.  But just on the basis of this morning's impressions . . .

Winners:   Michelle Obama and her husband.   The McCain story may, we hope, knock out of the news the controversy, such as it has been, over Ms. Obama's recent comments on pride in country.   Those comments, we believe, were taken out of context, then grossly and unfairly overblown, in an effort to contrive something negative about the Obamas.

Losers:   The Clintons.   At the very moment when every day counts in Hillaryland to be able to stop Obama's momentum by reaching the public in Texas and Ohio with something to turn things around, the McCain story dominates the news.   The longer it has legs in the media, the longer it competes with the Clintons' efforts against Obama.

Winner:   John McCain.   Although his party seems to be coalescing, slowly, around his candidacy, it's hard to think of a more effective way to rally the remaining recalcitrant conservatives in the party's base than by going to war with the New York Times.

Just a few initial impressions.