Unwritten rules attach themselves to every major sport. Soccer players know when to kick the ball out of play if an opponent lies injured on the ground. Basketball players understand if they're on the receiving end of a hard foul. And baseball players know that they simply cannot talk about a no-hitter while the no-hitter is still in progress.
American politicians have their own unwritten rules. Ronald Reagan actually articulated one when he talked about his "Eleventh Commandment"--thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.
No unwritten rule of American politics has been more important than the one that forbids any candidate in any campaign from uttering the word "assassination."
Senator Clinton has been around far too long for any of us to buy the story that she meant no offense. She clearly knows that a candidate cannot ever say such a thing, whether it's an historically accurate observation or not. The comments made in South Dakota do not belong in any campaign.
What would you do to a teammate who greeted your starting pitcher after the seventh inning with a comment like, "Hey, only six more outs and you've got the no-hitter!"
Exactly. And that's what me must now call on Democrats everywhere to do to Senator Clinton: show her the clubhouse door. This contest is not going to extra innings.
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