Bill Bradley’s The Journey from Here (2000), has a beautiful irony on page 96. (I am sure Bill was struck by it, too, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa could not deny using steroids.) He wrote:

In the 1998 baseball season, we witnessed a great battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for the home-run record. Each pushed the other to be better and better, and an incredible record was set.  As I watched the race, I wondered why American politics couldn’t be like that.

Dear Bill,

American politics is like that. Of all the examples you could have used to contrast with American politics, you chose one that perfectly describes American politics — both Democrats and Republicans trying to win at all costs, even if it means cheating (gerrymandering comes to mind).

I love irony — even if it’s accidental.