The GOP has its nominee.  Why can't the Democrats get one?   Here's a proposal for those anonymous Democratic super-delegates from a primary-weary nation: just agree that whoever has the lead in the popular vote at the end of the primaries is the Democratic candidate. Then in the boldest possible campaign finance and voter-turn-out reform ever envisioned, hold the national election on Labor Day. Congress sets the election date by statute, why wait until November or vote on a work day?

The Bush administration is out of gas and unnecessary life and resources are being lost in an unjustified war.   General Petraeus has been given “all the time he needs” to ponder over how to explain not reducing the number of troops in order to maintain the success of the surge -- success being defined as reducing the number of troops that had been increased to enable the reduction that at the end of the pondering likely cannot be undertaken lest success be lost.

After six interminable weeks of Pennsylvania, the primaries are telling us less and less. An extended general election campaign will just yield more cable talk about “flag pins” and the umpteenth replay of Mrs. Clinton dodging those “snipers” disguised as welcoming children in Bosnia.

Mrs. Clinton who had high negatives at the beginning of the campaign (much of which is related to whom she is, well, related) continues to receive high negatives, but uncomfortably, her scorched-earth primary campaign strategy has finally succeeded in raising negatives for Senator Obama -- some of which is apparently race-based.

Hillary Clinton supporter and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell blurted out: "There are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate.”   The comment is deeply disturbing.

The Democrats -- nay, Americans -- don’t need a revival of racial or gender politics, yet, if the conventions follow the present trajectory of the ever-nastier primary campaign, they are headed exactly in that direction. Call them off. Of course, then, there would still be an unfinished nominating task for both parties -- the vice presidency?

No problem. Concede Colin Powell to be the universal answer. He is in both parties anyway, and he would be a handy to have around whoever wins. Toss in Mitt Romney as Treasury Secretary and have both sides agree to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court on the basis of talent and integrity, and we’d be off to a good start.

So let the Hoosiers, the Tar Heels and all the rest have their fun right through June 3, but as a nation, let's save ourselves from an over-extended electoral conversation that will only waste the time, money, and goodwill the next president will need to govern.

Thanks to the 20th amendment we have to bide our time with the incumbent until January 20, 2009, but there's no reason we can't get a head start on a much needed transition that would really have us ready for day one.