Boston under lockdown. A bombing suspect dead, another on the run, possibly with explosives attached to him. A policeman dead, a thousand others deployed. Explosions, gunfire, fear everywhere.

This is the only song that seems appropriate now to convey the mood (please don’t read any political meaning into it): The Clash performing “Guns on the Roof”:

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.