Predictions - 7 Days Out

Obama in a close race:

Obama - 278
McCain - 260 (McCain carries Florida, Ohio, NC and Virginia)

Obama in a landslide:

Obama - 374
McCain - 164

Take your pick. At this point the best the GOP can hope for is that it's old guard fades away and that the new blood moves the party closer to the center. The idea that reinvigorating the base is sufficient to win a national election is short-sighted. Palin has re-energized the base. Has that moved the GOP into the win column? Not even close.

Remember when the GOP was the big tent party as espoused by Ronald Reagan? I do. Apparently the GOP "leadership" has forgotten that lesson as well as the other basic tenets of the party. The current leadership needs to go - now!

I'm Not Joe Six Pack

I'm not Joe Six Pack although at one point in life my Dad was Joe Twelve Pack. He eventually gave that up and I'm hoping that all of the politicians, particularly Sarah Palin, will give up these ridiculous stereotypes. At various points in my life I've been The Small Business Owner Guy, The Military Family Guy and Joe Jack Daniels. Right now I'd like to be Get Me Out of This Financial Hellhole Guy. Start offering solutions and just maybe people will start to listen.

I guess the real answer is that maybe there aren't really any solutions coming from Wall Street or Washington. John McCain isn't going to solve the problem in the next four weeks. He might have the opportunity to help when he goes back to the Senate but he's not going to get it done from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Stick a fork in him and send Governor Palin back to where she can see Russia from her house.

That leaves Barack Obama. He's going to win and his party's going to control both houses of Congress. So what's the plan? I didn't really hear one in last night's debate. Obama said that energy independence is his number one priority but as usual, no details forthcoming.

I've heard and read the Pickens Plan. It makes sense. It's an option. Are there other options? What's the Obama Plan? Do something bold. Do something audacious. America is willing to sacrifice and work for a specific goal and at the end of the day if we achieve energy independence - Joe Six Pack will love it. Be the next JFK. We're waiting and hoping.

Bailout

I think most of us are still asking the same question about Wall Street - WTF??? Is the bailout a good idea? Who knows, but I have to question the timing. The historical analogy I see the current administration drawing is that this is the greatest crisis on Wall Street since the Great Depression. Okay, I'm willing to take them, Paulson and Bernake, at their word.

That being said, I have to wonder whether anyone in 1929 thought it was a good idea for Herbert Hoover's financial team to guide them out of that great morass. I believe history shows us that the public didn't think so. If memory serves me correctly FDR and the Dems not only got elected in a landslide but then were re-elected three more times.

This doesn't bode well for McCain. Being a member of the party in power is becoming the proverbial albatross around his neck. He admittedly doesn't know much about the economy. He hasn't shown much leadership on the issue and neither has Obama. Obama doesn't have to. He can follow Lincoln's example prior to the 1860 election. Lincoln was an unknown quantity with very little national level experience. He didn't really say much of anything of substance. He was just a better alternative than what the other party had to offer.

I'm not saying that Obama is the next Lincoln or the other extreme - the next Jimmy Carter. What I am saying is that at this point the Palin bounce is gone and I'm beginning to view McCain as the ancient mariner.

Florida, Florida, Florida

Tim Russert put that on a dry erase board during the NBC broadcast of the 2000 election. Those three words said it all. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy or high-tech, just ordinary tools that he put to extraordinary use. That sums up Tim Russert to me. He was an ordinary guy that made the most of his talents and took us along for the ride.

Russert was credited with coining the "red state - blue state" phrase. He made politics understandable and human. He was always prepared. He was always unbiased. He asked the questions that we all wanted the answers to. More often that not he got answers not policy statements.

John McCain described him this way, "Tim Russert was at the top of his profession. He was a man of honesty and integrity. He was hard, but he was always fair."

He was a dutiful son and a proud father. He was named Father of the Year three times by three different organizations, all in different years. After his death was made public, a candlelight vigil was held in his hometown of Buffalo. More than a thousand people turned out. It was held in Tim Russert Park.

Hillary Concedes

Finally. So now what? She's not getting on the ticket. Quit thinking and dreaming like Paul Begala. It's not going to happen, no way. Barack Obama wants and needs to be his own man. If Barack gets elected and things go south the last thing he needs is spooky ol' Uncle Bill in the Blair House with Hillary waiting in the wings for 2012.

If Barack can't get elected then the Democrats better blow up the party and start over. If they can't get elected after 8 years of W then they should start a new party and leave the academics to study the Democratic Party along with the Whig Party. If they need Hillary to win in November then they really have a message of change - like change everything about our leadership and our party's strategy.

So why did Hillary hang on this long or at least past Tuesday. What sense did that make? Was it just vanity, disappointment, dirt on Obama, what was it? We'll probably never know until someone writes a tell-all book, which will probably not be that accurate.

So let me take a guess - How about Justice Hillary. Don't laugh. It could happen. The Supreme Court is going to turn over a justice or two soon and if Barack gets in wouldn't that be a nice repayment for Hillary helping him get elected. She is going to help isn't she?

Edwards Goes out on a Limb

John Edwards has now officially endorsed Barack Obama. Wow. Way to go out on a limb John. My feelings about the endorsement were best summed up in this faux quote from Margaret Bolton - Lighting Technician in The Onion:

"Edwards continues to show real leadership. Most people would have waited until all 50 nominated contests were finished, but this guy stepped up after 47."

I just can't say it any better than that.

Indiana Wants Me! Or Not!

Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana.... For the Democrats it goes on and on and on, well you get the picture. So this is the party that is going to provide new leadership and bring about change?! This is the party that is going to solve the Washington bureaucratic problems and show America a new path to follow. Are you kidding? The Democrats can't even figure out how to seat delegates at a convention, let alone pick a candidate.

Maybe the good folks of Indiana do want a say in who the next President might be. I know the "bitter" people of Pennsylvania got a chance to express their opinions. And what did it matter? We all know the math. We all realize the reality of the situation - neither candidate is going to have enough pledged delegates to capture the nomination. The nomination is going to be decided by the Super Delegates. Get on with it! If not, concede now.

Go ahead, admit it. The Democrats aren't worthy of the White House. None of them possess the leadership qualities to lead the free world. Howard Dean, couldn't lead a Girl Scout cookie drive. Worried about being "Swift Boated" by the GOP? Don't be. You've already done it to yourselves. What's next, a mash-up of Hillary holding hands with the Reverend White dodging sniper fire with Howard yelling "Yeehaw" in the background. If you are a Democrat you have to ask yourself, "How is it possible that we could lose the 2008 Presidential election? How?" The answer is very simple - Leadership!

Isn't leadership what we desire most in a President? It's okay though, keep stumbling along. I'm sure it will all get sorted out in Indiana. Or maybe South Dakota in June. Or maybe at the convention. Or maybe it just won't matter.