THE UNHAPPY WARRIOR:

The Longest Race: Louisiana's Mary Landrieu Didn't Lose on Election Day. But She Hasn't Won Yet. (Mark Leibovich, November 26, 2002, Washington Post)

Sen. Mary Landrieu is dressed, blow-dried and ready to campaign -- again.

She putters through her childhood home and kisses her father, former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, who is eating granola at the kitchen table. Her mother, Verna, pours coffee. The senator leaves her guest-room bed freshly made -- blue pajamas folded next to the pillow -- and is skimming the Times-Picayune when two campaign aides arrive.

Before she leaves, the senator stands in the middle of the kitchen and takes a deep, melodramatic breath, the kind she's been exhaling a lot these days. They signal both grit and exasperation, declare "Here I come" and "Here we go again" with a dash of "Let's get this over with."

Geez, she sounds like she should be on suicide watch. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 26, 2002 5:06 PM