'American Idol': LaKisha or Melinda

Two weeks into the season proper, the contours of the race seem so firmly set, its hard to imagine that anything could change it. By every available measure (online bookmakers, judges' comments, DialIdol voting information, common sense) Season Six is a two woman race between LaKisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle.

Once again, on Tuesday night, the boys delivered a series of performances woefully inadequate to the fame or obscurity stakes at hand. Once again, the girls were playing in an entirely different universe, with two of them outshining the rest by miles. But lightning could still strike. It has before, sort of. No one believed Taylor Hicks was more than a novelty contestant last year until very late in the game. Despite handicapping that placed him as the enormous favorite, Chris Daughtry was smote by the public and removed from the competition at fourth place.

Contestants can grow. We might wake up and discover Chris Richardson has undreamed of depths. But who are we kidding? Barring a cataclysmic act of God, the remaining contestants will sit on the sidelines until they are picked off four by four then one by one watching Melinda and LaKisha locked in a grueling death struggle back and forth until the finals.

For such a clear race to emerge means that the two warriors, rather than marshaling their resources for a sprint at the end, must prepare for a marathon. How such a grueling slow motion duel will affect the two goliaths is anyone's guess.

The only comparable guide in our culture is a political campaign and, if that offers any hints, we can expect at least one of the competitors to disintegrate under the pressure and the other to develop the sociopathic ability to disassociate herself from her supporters' smear campaign against her opponent while reaping all its benefits.

But that is just one path this battle can take. There will be so many choices for the gladiators in the coming months. The only thing politics can teach us for certain is that, with the race frozen between these two equally matched competitors, we can expect America to divide itself between the two in a desperate struggle for that deciding 1% in a few swing states. An era of brother against brother is likely at hand as counties, workplaces and civic groups align themselves with Melinda or LaKisha and former neighborhoods and friends, finding themselves on opposite sides of the divide, suddenly regard each other with suspicion and distrust.

That is the course that America's political history suggests we soon go down. But then again, the red-blue divide is just over petty things like elections and control of Congress. This is about something serious. This is "American Idol."

--Richard Rushfield