Weep for the republic as you read MSNBC talking heads analyzing Barack Obama’s choice of beverage at an Indiana diner:

On Hardball, while remarking on Sen. Barack Obama’s reported request for orange juice after being offered coffee at an Indiana diner, David Shuster asserted: “[I]t’s just one of those sort of weird things. You know, when the owner of the diner says, ‘Here, have some coffee,’ you say, ‘Yes, thank you,’ and, ‘Oh, can I also please have some orange juice, in addition to this?’ You don’t just say, ‘No, I’ll take orange juice,’ and then turn away and start shaking hands.” Host Chris Matthews agreed, “You don’t ask for a substitute on the menu.”

Yes, there was a discussion on national television about the appropriate way to ask for orange juice at a diner. This kind of coverage is all too remiscent of the way Matthews and other members of the press made up bizarre narratives about the color of Al Gore’s clothing, his choice of shoes, the way he claps, and the number of buttons on his suit (among many other things).

Going forward, the important question is whether this will be the third presidential race in a row in which the Democratic presidential candidate is treated as an elitist stiff and endlessly psychoanalyzed. I haven’t heard anyone talk like this about how John McCain orders orange juice…