This is my first diary and I have been waiting to write it for a week now. During that week some even more impressive events have occurred to support my humble opinion.
McCain will not win this election, not because Senator Obama is the better choice, although he is, but because the Republican Establishment has no interest in allowing this maverick wacko access to the White House.
Prior to the Republican National Convention, McCain was leaning toward Joe Leiberman as his running mate. Fortunately the folks running his campaign convinced him to put a no name right wing fringe governor on his ticket. Palin was under investigation, her husband a member of the Alaska Independence Party and her 17 year old daughter is pregnant with an illegitimate child. Those are her negatives even before we talk about the other more important issues, her lack of national political experience, her lack of international experience which could be forgiven if she at least had a basic understanding of any foreign policy at all. I think my 7 year old nephew understands more about foreign policy than Sarah Palin, of course my nephew is pretty smart so it may not be fair to compare him with Palin. Well after 6 weeks or so we have all seen the results of the decision.
Mid September, the Republican White House goes to Congress and states in no uncertain terms, if the Democrats don't help pass a massive bailout for the banking system that system will fail and our country will descend into a Depression the likes of which would have been unimaginable just 2 short years ago. A report I read from the Mortgage Implode O Meter stated that the Treasury Dept and Ben Bernanke knew we were going to have to bail the banks out in July of this year. Circumstantial evidence is the bill passed by Congress on July 24, 2008, named the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The bill not only allowed Treasury to take over the oversight of Freddy and Fanny, it also raised the debt ceiling by $800 Billion to $10.7 Trillion. So the Republican Establishment waits 6 weeks, allows Lehman Brothers to fail, and then announces the $700 Billion bailout. Now I realize this may sound a little like a conspiracy, however from a strategic view how better to torpedo a Republican Presidential campaign than have to bail out Wall Street 6 weeks before an election.
The McCain campaign is being run by Bush insiders, I have no idea why the "Maverick" would actually let these bunch of soulless party hack Rovite Bushies run his campaign other than he thought it would be the only way he could win. The problem with his line of reasoning is, the party establishment knows John McCain better than the public. Not to defend the Republicans but maybe they do understand that an intemperate old crank really shouldn't be the President of these United States.
To continue the time line. These party hacks running his campaign get McCain to suspend his campaign, go to DC and try to make the bailout his. Making McCain the savior of the US Banking system. Only problem is the Republican House members defect and vote against the Bailout. Go Figure. McCain comes off as an erratic powerless simp.
Fast forward to October 19th. The last Republican with any credibility left among independent and moderate Republican voters, Colin Powell, War Hero, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State, endorses the other guy. Wow. Here is a guy who has carried the water for the Bush family for 24 years. So he just up and decides to break with the family he has been loyal to for a generation. It would seem unlikely that Gen Powell just up and goes for the other guy when he doesn't need to say anything. Of course Gen Powell is a patriot and is following his own beliefs, I just think he had a few chats with some folks to see what the downsides would be before he would show up for Meet the Press.
I think John McCain's status as a Maverick has come back to haunt him in a way he never thought possible. The Republican Establishment is quite likely willing and I think actively working to lose the White House rather than allow this man to win this election. I think the popularity contest has been decided and McCain again has lost, thanks to his own party.