Six years ago. November 2002. Somewhere in America. A coffeeshop or around a corporate water-cooler. In an elemetary school staffroom or on a highway construction crew. At a university or in a retirement home.
Dick and Jane are lamenting the recently-concluded mid-term elections. The Republicans gained a handful of House seats and recaptured the Senate.
The near-term looks rather bleak.
DICK: I don't like the prospects for 2004.
JANE: It doesn't look promising.
DICK: Most Presidents get re-elected.
JANE: And losing seats in the mid-term is a dark sign.
DICK: Maybe a star candidate, like Gore or Hillary, could win. I doubt they'll run though, and even then it would be hard.
JANE: Yep. We'll probably have to wait until 2008.
DICK: Yeah. I bet both Gore and Hillary run then!
JANE: Maybe. But I don't think either of them will get the nomination.
DICK: Who then? Lieberman? That Dean guy? Or the Senator from Massachusetts, or maybe the one from one of the Carolinas?
JANE: Maybe. But I don't think so. I've got a dark horse for 2008.
DICK: Really? Who?
JANE: Well, you haven't heard of him. He doesn't have much of a national profile. In fact, he's just a state senator in Illinois. But he sounds like he'll be running for Senate in 2004, and he should be a strong favorite.
DICK: You're serious? You think some guy serving in a state legislature right now is going to be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008?
JANE: Yes, I do.
DICK: Okay, tell me more.
JANE: Well, he is a brilliant orator and a Constitutional law professor as well. A graduate of Harvard Law.
DICK: Oh great, an academic! [rolls his eyes] The GOP will eat him alive!
JANE: And he's a black man.
DICK: Excuse me? I'm sorry, I thought you were actually serious in this discussion.
JANE: I am!
DICK: Okay, I'll humor you. What's his name.
JANE: His first name is Barack.
DICK: What's that? Sounds Jewish.
JANE: Actually, it's African. His father was Kenyan.
DICK: And you think this guy could carry a single state? Well, what's his last name?
JANE: Obama.
DICK: Sounds foreign and it rhymes with 'Osama'. What's his middle name? Fred? Michael? It can't be any worse than his other two names.
JANE: Hussein.
[Dick just stares blankly]
JANE: Anyway, he was born in Hawai'i, then moved to Indonesia, where he lived until he was ten years old. Then he grew up in Hawai'i, had a stellar college career, and has made a name for himself in Illinois politics. He sure looks like a future President.
DICK: What he looks like is a 538-0 Republican sweep. That is, assuming he could even win the nomination, which he couldn't. The idea is laughable!
JANE: We'll see.
DICK: We sure will! Ha! A black guy? With the middle name 'Hussein'? Are you insane? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN' MIND?! IMPOSSIBLE!