So the midterm elections are 3 weeks away. It will FINALLY be over soon. All of the ads and signs will disappear. The talking heads spouting off about "security moms" and "NASCAR dads" and what messages "resonate" with the public will finally zip it for a while. [OK, that's not true of course. There will be the endless post-mortem analysis, and then probably an immediate jump into the 2008 Presidential campaign.]
It's been a long 2 years since Bush was re-elected. A long time for all of us who were really gutted by the fact that Bush won again. Democrats and progressives are desperately hungry for a victory. And it could be coming.
Polls continue to show a wide edge for the Democrats, but the Dems are skittish. While Bush and Rove smugly and confidently predict victory, many Dems are secretly worried that despite NUMEROUS factors in our favor, we will somehow fumble the ball just as we are crossing the goal line.
Karl Rove puts Dems in a state of sheer panic. Dems have visions of endless lines of God-bots marching to the tune of Rove's piping as they descend en masse to the polls and dutifully cast their ballots for the GOP candidate. Likewise, Dems have fearful visions of their supporters - all supposedly hot and bothered about the Bushies and about gaining control in Congress - being unable to pry themselves away from their Xboxes long enough to stumble their way down to the polls and vote. Then there's the widespread fear that even if they manage to get their folks to the polls, it won't matter, because there is a legion of GOP-lead hackers just waiting to screw up the electronic voting systems to ensure a GOP victory.
The combined apoplexy that Bush and Rove's continued confidence causes among the Dems is kinda funny and sad to watch. What do folks expect them to do? Say they are going to lose? Skulk around the White House openly making plans on how best to deal with Leader Pelosi? Dems secretly fear that Rove has some secret plan, some tidbit of knowledge that allows him to smugly predict victory. Dems tell themselves over and over again that the conditions favor them, the polls favor them, and yet.... they secretly whisper to each other in hushed tones, "he can't be right, can he?"
We'll see. Let's face it: conditions favor the Democrats. We should be in good position. ALL of the polls indicate a likely Dem takeover in the House. Even the Senate is within shouting distance.
But there are 3 weeks yet to go. The Foley scandal has faded from the headlines. North Korea is the new big story. Harry Reid has been in the news over his Christmas gifts to staffers that came from campaign funds. James Baker is heading a new commission that, the story goes, will provide a change of direction in Iraq. The Saddam Hussein trial verdict is expected only 2 days prior to the election. Will the Bushies serve up Bin Laden's head on a serving platter as a Halloween surprise? Will Sean Hannity and the whole talk-radio crowd be able to successfully instill enough fear into their listeners over Nancy Pelosi to make a difference? Will another smirk from Rove be enough to send the Dems careening over a cliff in sheer panic? Will Hillary come out of hiding at the last moment and scare away all those folks who might otherwise vote Democratic? Will George Allen's handlers finally get him to just stop talking until after the election? Who will burst a blood vessel first: Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, or Bill O'Reilly? Will James Dobson and his crew of wackos start a new inquisition to weed out all of the Gheys from the Republican party's power structure in Washington?
The answer to all of these questions is..... we'll see. I, for one, will be glad when it's all over so that I can stop obsessing about Senate races in New Jersey, and Missouri, and Tennessee, and Montana, and.... ugh.
Bring on November 7, and hopefully - this time - the Dems can follow through and actually provide us with a much needed victory.
Another defeat, in this climate, and we may as well just hand over the keys to the GOP forever. We must be strong, get off our asses, and make sure each and every one of us does what we can to make this victory happen on Nov. 7.
And then in 2008..... Obama?