Nice post.

Hillary looks to me like she wants to go with door #3, believe it or not. I think the Clintons are getting ready to hang it all up, leading to a victory march for Obama from March 4 through the convention. There, he'll electrify the crowd and go forth to do battle with grandpa, realizing only too late that everyone in the country thinks he's an empty suit except the Teachers union (the aforementioned convention crowd, by no coincidence). He loses in the general, and it isn't close. The nutroots convince themselves that democracy cannot be trusted, and Dailykos starts promoting Huge Chavez as the right man for America.

Daffydd, you are absolutely correct because every single one of your scenarios has a tendentious underpinning--BIOLOGY!

And by that I mean both RACE and SEX!

It is no accident that here's a "black" Arab-American socialist facing a Stalinist feminist cracker, for the right to face an patriotic, old, white Washington insider.

Could the wet dream get any wetter for the left-wingers?

When Michelle Obama says that she has never been proud to be an American what or whom is her appeal to?

When she says that she feels the pain of women everywhere, all those unloved, unwanted, abused, desperate houewives that she knows, what or whom is her appeal to?

When Obama says "Si, se puede" to what or whom is he appealing?

An Election used to be about setting out programmes and promises; now it's about apppealing to the "victims" of elections past. We have ceased to evaluate candidates and have started to weigh voters.

What makes me bridle is that the Obamas' "JUST WORDS" are truly "UNJUST WORDS", wrongfully traducing their country and their biology for the pain and suffering, the isolation and the affront that they must bear every single day of their lives.

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation", said Thoreau. Desperate indeed, but not so quiet in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Obama.

Apropos, and looking ahead, what happens to the streets of this country if, by some chance, in a closely fought election, John McCain is given the Electoral College Vote, a la 2000. Will there be accusations of a stolen election? Will Watts burn again? Will the streets of Chicago and Detroit remain calm? Will the National Guard be put on alert? Will the MSM and the gliterati suggest, pay for and build barricadesof burning rubber in the streets of New York and Hollywood?

Nah! The American people on both sides are invested in this election as a lecture to the world that will demonstrate that THIS is how a mature Democracy works!LOL

ROLL ON E-DAY+1!

Dafyyd-

Not to hijack this thread, but I think racism has a great deal to do with Obamania. (Sorry if this is old news -- the thought didn’t originate with me.)

Many white Americans who couldn’t see themselves voting for Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton find an acceptable black political figure in Barack Obama.

This gives them an ideal opportunity to deny the racism that they feel accused (or even guilty) of.

They can go to the poll, vote for Barack, and say, “See, I’m not a racist, I voted for Obama.” They can tell their friends of their noble deed or, perhaps more importantly, they can glow in the knowledge that they now can prove, to themselves at least, that they are not racist.

I know people like that.

Excuse me for being a bit of an "aguafiestas" here, but it seems to me there is a Scenario 4. That scenario would come about if Hillary was not able to close the delegate gap in any of the upcoming primaries. Therefore, she will be destined to enter the Democrat convention with a minority of pledged delegates. Her only hope would be a combination of reversing the Party rules and seating the Michigan-Florida delegates and/or buying-cajoling a majority of superdelegates to vote for her.

Now she could short circuit this recipe for a knock down-drag out fight at the convention by conceding the nomination to Obama a la Mitt Romney, calling on her pledged delegates and supporters to support BHO, thus uniting the Democrat Party going into the electoral campaign. Can the Clinton's actually swallow such an outcome? I think the odds are long. But if they could, we had better start planning for an Obama Presidency. With Bush's approval rating now below 20%, only a divided Democrat Party could loose the '08 election.

Dick;

If Obama wins there'll be no recriminations of racism on any side; the whites will all say they voted for him (I was at Woodstock!) and the blacks will say that they finally have pride in America.

Everybody will love Barack, the winner; the world will be saved; Mankind will reach the Promised Land; Milk and honey all round!

I really don't understand why Hillary and McCain are bothering to challenge such untramelled goodness, purity and promise!

But what if Barack loses? What if it's tight? What if it comes down to Super-delegates or the Electoral College?

It's not white racism you should be worrying about; it's the state of mind that can bring 20,000 at the drop of a hat to Jena to defend a young criminal from an imaginary injustice; bring 30,000 screaming people, most not old enough to vote to stadiums where they witness, and worship and faint with the pure exaltation; It's Duke and Tawana Brawley!

Oh! Yes! I can just imagine what the race hustlers will do if they think that dirty tricks were used to crucify the Messiah upon the cross of Democracy!

HUSSEIN MUST WIN, OR ELSE.....

Boqueronman:

With Bush's approval rating now below 20%, only a divided Democrat Party could loose the '08 election.

No national poll has ever shown Bush's approval "below 20%." The lowest he has ever been at is the high twenties... and only on individual outliers. Most polls show him in the low thirties, and indeed, that has been his average for over a year -- and is his average right now.

Dafydd

I find it odd that the false claim of Prez Bush at 20% approval gets so much traction, while the true stat of Congress having much lower numbers than the Prez gets so little attention.

Not sure what Bush's numbers mean to this election... McCain's the candidate, not W.

While I admit that I'm as willing to indulge in shadenfreude as the next reptile, (especially when it comes to a Clinton) I don't see any of those scenarios helping the Country, or even the Republican Party. Well, maybe #2. Hillary loses, and nobody except a bunch of angry Hard Left Hillary backers are made moot.

Of all, I think #3 is the most likely... She's behind now, she's falling behind in Texas, Texas' system has been set up by the D party in such a way that it favors Obama so far anyhow. With no victories to support Hillary, her SuperDelegates (Tun Tunnah!) will need to vote for Obama to keep their OWN elected offices. I think she's done for.

I'm not a fan of McCain, as I've said here in the past. But I want the Republican Party to win this one on the merits, and I don't see McCain having much problem in that arena. I just can't bring myself to cheer for the team if it means a whole swath of voters (from ANY block) decide that sitting at home in a snit is good.

I certainly don't want to inflict a President Obama or Hillary on the United States, don't get me wrong. McCain's no prize, but those two would be devastating. I just... *sigh* I'm not happy watching the Country win by having voters stay home. Does that make sense, or am I being naive and unrealistic?

Mr. Michael:

I certainly don't want to inflict a President Obama or Hillary on the United States, don't get me wrong. McCain's no prize, but those two would be devastating. I just... *sigh* I'm not happy watching the Country win by having voters stay home. Does that make sense, or am I being naive and unrealistic?

I understand your discomfiture, Mr. M.; but we are, after all, by definition, talking about people who would refuse to vote in the general election because their preferred candidate didn't win the primaries. Such folks are so profoundly unAmerican that I honestly don't want them representing my country by voting.

Dafydd

Dafydd,
Oh great herp, please realize there is a difference between a voter being in a temporary funk and someone who boycotts an election over reactionary posing.

Seems to me that you're overlooking more Scenarios:

5) Hillary comes within 200-300 delegates of Obama and decides not to contest the nomination. Emulates Nixon in 1960 rather than Gore....

6) She comes within 200-300 delegates but loses the floor fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates. Likely if it comes to that.

7) She comes within 200-300 delegates but the majority of superdelegates quietly inform her that an effort to back-door her way to the nomination won't work. Again likely if it comes.

8) Florida and Michigan schedule caucuses for late in the primary season (too late for primaries, I think) - Dems decide to accept delegates from caucuses, as they fit within party rules. Probably unlikely, but possible?

Any or all of these are as likely as Scenario 3 and much more likely than a successfull snatch by the Hillary. I regard Scenario 2 as totally implausible; if Hillary tries to steal the nomination and fails her supporters will be burning their campaign paraphenalia and joining Billaholics Anonymous to get their own 'Three-Point Plan'. They certainly won't be crying foul UNLESS Hillary takes the lead in pledged delegates (or at least ties the count).

Nonetheless, McCain may take a large chunk of Latinos, regardless of the specifics.

Thanks for hissing in, . Now you can slither in with a comment, o wise. (sign out)