WHY McCAIN MIGHT JUST WIN THIS ELECTION

Contrary to popular belief some Democrats are preparing for the worst - a McCain win of this November's presidential election.

"What?!" ask Democrat die-hards in disbelief, "that's not possible after last week...!" Oh yes it is. It's time Democrats wake up and sniff the sobering smell of reality coffee .

"But," cry others with indignation, "because of the current Republican administration the state of the union is in disarray: we're in an unpopular war, the economy is a mess, cost of living is rising daily, petrol is expensive, people are losing their homes!!!! Have you gone mad?!"

No, but this is America we are dealing with - ANYTHING is possible!

Let me put forth my arguments why people may vote McCain/Palin on November 2nd:

AMERICA IS IN AN UNPOPULAR WAR. Sure, but there's that nagging issue of experience that dogs Obama. To counter this he picked Sen Joe Biden as his running mate primarily because of his expertise in this foreign policy, but American voters want an experienced number one with all the executive powers to make snap decisions on international matters, not for him to wait on the advice of the ceremonial number two who's just a stand-by waiting to give his input. This is where McCain can convince some voters not to "take a chance on a fresh face with fresh ideas" when the lives of their sons and daughters are in peril.

GAS PRICES ARE INCREASING; OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL IS GROWING. And the everyday common man/woman in America can relate to only one solution - "DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!" It doesn't matter that it could take anywhere from five to ten years for any benefits of off-shore drilling to hit the marketplace and that by then it may not make a difference as our appetite -and the world's - has increased making any gains intangible. Voters relate drilling now to lower gas prices, they can NOT relate to Obama's message of "tightening our belts as we transition to renewable energy". We're an instant-gratification nation: instant food, instant TV, instant satisfaction, etc. And to voters instant fix minds off-shore drilling equates to lower gas prices. Again, another brownie point for McCain.

OUR FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE IN PERIL OF COLLAPSING, and everyone will feel the pinch. Sure, voters will admit that it was the policies of the current Republican administration in cooperation with the (1995 to 2004) Republican-controlled houses of congress and senate that implemented the rules of deregulation of the financial industry that lead to this mess, but again it comes to the instant fix solution: the Republicans created the problem, and they're the one's who came up with a quick fix plan to solve it - why not let them oversee the solution for the next four years?

After all, if the $700 billion proposal is approved banks will have money to lend, taxpayers may be able to negotiate lower payments on their house, auto and credit card loans, and STILL have money left over to buy even more stuff they can not afford! Who wants Democrats in power with their cold-water reality argument that the companies should NOT be bailed out as it would provide absolution for the fuck-ups of greedy corporate companies and their executives?! Why SHOULD we suffer for years because of Wall Street mistakes that consumers enabled with their greed for easy credit? Nah, let's go the easy way - borrow, borrow, BORROW OUR WAY OUT OF THIS MESS SO WE CAN SPEND MORE , MORE, MORE!!!! Again, one more reason to go McCain and the Republicans!

And last, but not least - RACISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE. As much as Americans like to delude themselves that theirs is a forward thinking society, 66% of the population is comprised of Caucasians - the majority of whom are socially reserved, cautious, conservatives. They do not like quick social change: while slavery was abolished in most of the world in 1838, it took a Civil War to end slavery in America in 1865. When British imperialists were giving their territories independence in the 1950s and 60s AS A CONDITION LAID OUT BY THE AMERICANS to helping the British with World World II, those same Americans kept racial segregation legal until the Civil Rights Act of 1968. While the rest of the world has made strides with birth control, abortion and gay rights issues - America struggles to adapt. Today, women's rights are rallied around the world - the USA still has yet to make any formal legislation on this issue.

Are most Americans ready for a black president only 40 years after segregation was made illegal? No - the ugly truth is that racism is still rampant in rural areas and in private and public administrative practices of the union. Up to March of this year the United Nations criticized the U.S. on their policies regarding racial profiling according to a report by The Human Rights Watch (click here).

So why, you may ask, does the writer of this article still fight for the Obama/Biden ticket?

Because although these elements are in place for a possible McCain/Palin win, there is also a strong undercurrent in this country for change in the way America thinks, reacts and is perceived by the world.

To us, the slogan CHANGE WE NEED means something more than a new president.

To us, Obama means hope of a better America:

HOPE is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea,
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

- Emily Dickinson