Apple introduced the Apple II in 1977; IBM countered in 1981 with the PC and in their haste launched Microsoft. In 1984 Apple launched the Macintosh with innovative features not matched by the (no longer)-IBM PC for over a decade. Even today, many observers say that many of the innovations appearing on the PC platform are merely ripoffs of time-tested Macintosh features.
The '08 Democratic race reminds me a lot of microcomputer history with Edwards as Mac and Clinton/Obama as the sappy IBM-PC. The best progressive ideas (healthcare, Iraq, economy, etc.) are coming out of the Edwards campaign; when Obama/Clinton need to strengthen their progressive facades these ideas are then taken, weakened and adopted.
In the initial triumph of the PC over the Mac cost trumped technical superiority: a PC was 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a Mac; the sidelining of Edwards seems to be due to the emphasis placed by the old-guard media and voters on personality rather than substance. If a PC candidate triumphs it will set back progressive government for a decade or more, as the PC’s success over the Mac retarded personal computing. Why not go for the best?