by Jonathan Reisman

February is dream-planting season- planting some garden seeds in the sunroom, dreaming of spring, and planting some political dreams in candidates in boxes, as they collect signatures and plead for campaign donations. Both operations are rooted in optimism, but both are leavened by years of disappointment. Sometimes the promising seedlings get a bit too leggy or are damaged when exposed to the sun and elements after a swaddled infancy in the warm and protected sunroom. The same can happen to candidates.