First off, I absolutely abhor politics, the campaigning, the polling, the mudslinging, the empty promises, the overall BS, I can't stand any of it. The only thing worse than politicians themselves are the idiot talking heads/media that try to analyze and discuss the politicians, they should all be fed to the homeless. But, being a responsible citizen, I will trudge through a lot of literature so that I can make an informed decision come election day (and I fervently believe that there should be some type of requirement to be allowed to vote, an IQ test, a literacy test, a 5-10 question quiz about the politicians running, if you don't know anything about them, why are you casting a vote?). After gleaning what I felt was sufficient information, I have a sneaking suspicion of what's going to transpire.

Obama is going to win, that's a good thing, but he is quite possibly being set up to take the fall.

McCain has never been popular with the republicans, the only reason he has his "maverick" label is because of his minifeuds within the party. So, it stands to reason that he ended up with the nomination because TPTB (whether you want to call them Smig's NWO, the rich white old guys, or whatever) basically decided to concede this election to the dems and lick their wounds for four years while grooming a better candidate for 2012. When Obama emerged as a frontrunner, it probably excited TPTB even more, as they could get their "Bush screwed up so bad we have to let the Dems have the white house" presidency and the first minority presidency out of the way all in one foul swoop. I think losing the senate majority really made them realize that a sea change was happening, and the old status quo wasn't going to fly. They also realized just how bad the entire government was coming off under Bush (Katrina exposed quite a bit, and the real estate slump is a big example of the financial mess that has accumulated over time), and knew that the dems were going to get their chance. However, with the country in as bad a state as it is, nothing short of Obama coming through on each and every one of his promises is going to get him a second term. The reps now have the "the democrats are in control now and things didn't get any better" card to play, and they can (and most likely will) use that as a bludgeon as 2012 approaches. If they actually wanted to support McCain, there's no way they would have allowed Palin and all her baggage to be chosen as his running mate. They are probably keeping their sacred cows (Romney, Giuliani, etc) as far from the McCain campaign as they can, as they will be grooming a powerhouse candidate to trot out in the next election.

I actually kind of doubt what I just theorized is true (mainly because I don't believe our politicians are capable of this level of foresight, planning, and organization), but I have at least entertained the idea that something like this is going on.

My hope is that Obama and the senate work well together, we get some issues straightened out, the economy stabilizes, and the country gets better, as a whole. I don't really care who's in charge, a politician is a politician, but I do see some genuine good in Obama, and I hope he does bring some real change. Whether he has that capability in our current structure is another matter though, and I fear I already know the answer to that.

So that's it.