WHAT? ME WORRY?

By all rights, the November 2008 election ought to result in a landslide for the candidate of the Democratic Party. The economy is in the toilet for most people. Apart for big investment banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, relief does not appear on the way. Admitting that he lacks an understanding of the economy, McCain offers little but more of the same failed Bush policies that have left an underregulated economy lurching from financial crisis to financial crisis. Yet, Obama is in a neck and neck contest with McCain. How can this be?

In part, one might blame the electoral college. It is very possible that Obama will win the popular vote quite handily. The electoral college math, however, bespeaks a close race. Indeed, according to Chuck Todd, NBC News electoral analyst, the contest has come down to a race in four key states: Ohio, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia. In these states, the races are a statistical dead heat.

Ohio might be excused. It has always found it difficult to vote for a Democratic candidate. Indeed, it has also found ways to make it difficult for Democratically inclined voters to cast their votes on a timely basis. It's a large state with 21 electoral votes. But, it may be difficult for Obama to shake these votes his way.

Colorado is a strange bird indeed. On the one hand, Denver and its suburbs are probably inclined to support Obama. Indeed, votes for the Democratic party have increased in recent elections. Yet, western Colorado appears ready to succumb to the Republican mantra of Drill Here, Drill Now. So which way will Colorado swing? At this stage, it's too close to tell.

Electoral college politics is but one side of the equation, however. On the other side lies the arcana of American politics and history. To some, Obama is just too liberal. And, since America is not a liberal country, Obama is out of tune with the rhythm of the land. To others, Obama is, well he represents, the end of an era. No, it's not the poisonous politics of the recent past. Rather, the possible ascension of Obama to the highest office in the land will marked the final nail in the coffin burying white rule in the United States. Soon, the land will be dominated by minorities - black, brown, yellow, green, whatever color you like - and the white man will fade away like the American Indian. For such people, greener pastures do not lie in an all-inclusive future where men and women, regardless of creed, color or background, can legitimately aspire to lead, but hope lies in the myriad casinos scattered throughout the country.

Yet, the reluctance of some voters to break free of their prejudices and vote for the better candidate only explains part of the problem that Obama has. Ever since it became clear that he would become the Democratic nominee for president, Obama has meandered. Gone is the visceral fire in the belly that ignited voters in the winter and spring. Instead, we have the philosophical and professorial Obama who, although appealing to well-educated voters on the coasts, fails to connect with those Americans deeply hurt by the economy. Raise your voice. Denounce the idiotic policies of the Bushidos whose only response is more tax cuts for the rich. Trickle down, my arse. We've been pissed on for over 25 years by Reaganites who have soft soaped us with all kinds of promises. Tell us what you're going to do and show the working and middle class how it helps them.

Then, there's the Palin factor. Just who she is doesn't really seem to matter. The Republican evangelist base certainly knows who she is. They love her. She is George W. without the baggage. She's Barbie fighting back against the Bratz (who will all know support Obama!). Whatever the merits of her nomination, she does energize the crowds for John McCain. Whether she can help him move beyond the narrow evangelical base is another matter. But, it seems as if she has pushed states such as North Carolina out of the "contested" category and into the Republican fold.

If this election had been about the issues, then this election would have long since been decided. McCain's claim that drilling off-shore will solve the energy crisis in months is absurd and ignores the critical lack of off-shore drilling equipment that could be used to boost off-shore production, even if the approval process is so speeded up that environmental concerns are completely ignored. McCain has had nothing sensible to say about the financial meltdown that is shaking Wall Street. He offers nothing beyond the absurd palliative of extending the Bush tax cuts by making them permanent.

Whereas Obama has repeatedly decried the financial windfall exacted by those executives responsible for the irresponsible fiscal shenanigans that have wreaked havoc on the housing industry and resulted in a liquidity crisis that has made it difficult for students to get private sector loans, for companies to secure investment loans, and even for municipalites who rely on the market to finance infrastructure projects, McCain's silence was deafening until Obama had spoken. Now, McCain too is opposed to the multi-million dollar bonuses that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives will walk away with. Yes, they should pay these undeserved millions back. It's just that the man whose economic policies you so dearly defend doesn't see a problem. Don't just talk the talk, John, call the boss. Tell Bush what you think if that's really what you believe! And tell us specifically what you would if you became president to go after executive overcompensation especially when the ruination of companies is what's been achieved. Parroting Obama just isn't enough!

Instead, we get distractions such as the lipstick on a pig nonsense that McCain surely knows is pigheaded. Yet, he acts as if his campaign has not been responsible for dragging this campaign through the sewer. When you have truly nothing to offer, I suppose the only thing you can do is throw enough mud and hope some of it not only sticks but so obfuscates the view that the bigger picture is lost for all the slime.

Maybe Obama ought to have debated McCain in town hall appearances. Somehow, though, the suspicion looms that the McCainites would have sought to structure these in such a way to maximize demagoguery and minimize rational debate. Surely, McCain's advisors know that he does not do well when speaking off the cuff. He doesn't have command of the facts. Beyond platitudes and his constant refrain about the "super successful surge" that he, McCain, pushed the president to enact, McCain still can't tell the difference between Sunni and Shia.

No serious analyst accepts McCain's claim that the surge has been successful solely as a result of the dispatch of 30,000 troops to Baghdad. Nor can McCain explain why if the "surge" is so successful is it impossible to speed the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Could it be that the "super successful surge" still stands on shaky legs and a lot depends on how the government in Baghdad integrates the Sunni Awakening into the Iraqi police and military and how it addresses the regional issues that threaten to rend Iraq asunder. Not even Bill O'Reilly attempts to make Obama confess his sins can distract from the fact that Obama demonstrates a more nuanced and more accurate understanding of the Iraq debacle.

Yes, I am worried. If 50% of the voters who actually will go to the polls and cast a ballot for president wish to walk off a cliff and commit hari-kari, I might not be so chagrined. That they might just tip the scales by allowing McCain to win a majority of the electoral college while losing the popular vote and push the United States over the cliff is simply unconscionable. So, cast your vote for McCain, if you dare. Rest assured that if he wins, Palin will run for president in 4 years. Should she win, you can almost predict that the Supreme Court will at last achieve unanimous decisions and outlaw abortion, make it impossible for everyday citizens to achieve equity against corporations and continue the Bush practice of curtailing our rights as citizens.