Lately everyone has been getting on about how the Republicans are in trouble in the upcoming midterm elections. Even Time has now gotten on the bandwagon saying that the Repugs could lose 15 seats in the Congress (losing control) and are within a hair's breadth of losing the Senate.
If that happens then we'll have two years of calls for censure or impeachment, all sorts of investigations, and other miscellaneous whatnot. So you know it won't happen - Bush won't allow it. We can at least expect an October Surprise.
What will it be?
John Dean, in an essay on truthout (
http://www.truthout.org/...), says the following: "If you have any knowledge of how White Houses operate, you can be sure they are working night and day to pull off such a surprise."
Diebold The Election: First, I think that "Diebold" should be a verb, meaning to steal an election electronically. As in, "The Dems thought they had a chance, but they didn't believe we'd Diebold them." This is a significant possibility. Remember, they won't have to Diebold all the congressional races, just a few of the closer ones. A majority is a majority is a majority.
Osama The Election: "To Osama" should also be a verb, meaning to win an election by capturing someone important. It doesn't have to be Osama. It could be al Zarqawi or Mullah Omar, or any of that cast of characters. In fact, since the terrorists want Bush to remain in office, due to his incompetence in dealing with them and his tendency to go off on wild tangents like invading Iraq and maybe Iran, maybe they'll convince one of these boys to get himself captured. I can see the power elite among the terrorists telling al Zarqawi, "Hey, Al, you know we want Bush in power, right?" Still, the odds of this happening just before the elections seem small.
Tax Breaks: This always works. But this time they'll have to give tax breaks to the middle class. Not too much, a few hundred might do it. Because of the "strong economy". Doesn't seem likely though, too many billions would be lost.
Bring The Troops Home: This one seems quite likely. Declare victory (even with the civil war raging) and announce that 50,000 will be coming home right away. Then after the elections, renege on the promise.
Throw Money At The Elections: Lots and lots of money. More money than has ever been seen before. This one is probably a given.
Smear The Ever Lovin' Crap Out of Democratic Candidates: Also a given. They've got private eyes and the NSA working overtime right now getting the dirt. And if they can't find any, make some up. BushCo isn't very creative normally, but in this one area they're geniuses.
Announce A Giant Plan: Some kind of public works plan, or maybe rebuilding New Orleans. Or something to get "America moving again". The usual bait-and-switch. Definitely a possibility, but Americans by now have gotten used to it and will tune them out. Won't they?
Bomb The Crap Out of Iran: Announce that the threat is far more serious than originally thought. Then start bombing in the October timeframe, hoping for a boost in popularity as Americans express solidarity with the President. A desperate measure, but these are desperate men.
Upgrade The Threat Level: Maybe all the way up to Red or Ultraviolet. Doesn't seem likely, since Americans have been there before, but who knows?
Although I've presented these a bit tongue in cheek, they are actually serious possibilities. Please add any I've missed in the comments below. This October I don't want to be surprised and I'd like to give the Dems a handy-dandy list of things to expect.