A Nation on the Edge of Its Seat: How Will Barack Obama Blow it?
As National Journal columnist Charlie Cook points out: WTF?
Seriously, W… T… F?!?! When exactly did this election go from being a nail-biter to a paint-drying-watcher?
Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that liberals were walking around, pissing into each others' pants and wringing their hands in fear that McCain was somehow gonna produce footage of Obama having sex with the corpse of an American soldier? So, what happened?
[I]t seems very unlikely that the focal point of this election is going to shift away from the economy.
Oh, that's right. The fall of Western Civilization. I'd forgotten…
And as long as the economy is the focal point, it's difficult to see how this gets any better for Republicans up or down the ballot. It's sobering to think of the magnitude an event would have to have to pull voters' minds off the economy, the credit markets that have seized up, the stock market that has been pummeled, the values of their 401(k) and other retirement plans that have plummeted.
How can an election that was so volatile now suddenly seem to be so inevitable?
Inevitable? I wouldn't use that exact word. Call me a realist, but I'm sure the Democrats have something up their sleeves. When it comes to alienating voters and losing elections, they're nigh on geniuses. (Just ask Congressman Murtha.)
As things are going now, this election would appear to be on a track to match Bill Clinton's 1992 5.6 percent margin over President George H.W. Bush, the question is whether it gets to Bush's 1988 7.7 percent win over Michael Dukakis or Clinton's 8.5 percent win over Robert Dole in 1996.
Maybe some cataclysmic event occurs in the next two weeks that changes the trajectory of this election, but to override these factors, it would have to be very, very big.
Yes. Very, very big, indeed.
Coincidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple notable big time McCain supporters are planning such an event right now.*
(via Andrew Sullivan)
* In a completely non-partisan way, I sincerely hope they're not. (Do you have any idea what 9/11 did to public transportation in New York seven years ago. I have I never have to deal with a tragedy of that magnitude again.)
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DaveW, I hope we all see it that way eventually.
On race and The race: The Bradley Effect is much on people's minds, these days. And, the GOP is doing its level best to make white people doubt and fear a black candidate. But I am getting more and more confused about race in this race.
It has to do with the "he's half white" business. Have you ever repeated a word so many times that, for just a little while, it lost its meaning to you? That's how race has become for me in regards to Obama. I keep hearing "African American candidate" and "black candidate" and then I hear "He's half white" and "mixed parentage" and on and on, and it has lost all meaning for me. Which half of him is white, and which black? What does this even mean? Anyway, I can't see race, anymore. I just see a guy who's got as complicated a cultural heritage as I have, and I can relate to that. The question is, do other people see it that way, or is it all black and white to them?
Chief Bill Bratton of L.A., CA just wrote an opinion piece for the NY Times saying Al Qaeda may attack in the U.S. before election day …. WTF … ?!? How did that rabid McCainite rightwing "pro America, patriotic, God loving" guy come to be Police Chief of L.A. ???
I agree, all of the polls are saying that McCain is behind, but I think that is just part of the plan. I think that the thing to blow everything out of proportion will be simple…race. It seems to me that a lot of people are trying to avoid the underlying racial tension. I am building a shelter now to escape the riots.
There are so many ways for the Democratic Party to lose this election, I can't even begin to count. But I will bring up one aptly named company that might maybe have a hand in it all: Diebold.
(p.s.: also, the Supreme Court.)
Do the words October Surprise mean anything to you? I'm gonna go all Biden on
you and predict another attack on Halloween. Then Bush declares martial law and
suspends the elections until Republicans look good again. It's the only way. You
know we're all suckers for contrived narratives.