Observation #1:
As expected, both sides are already drawing up battle plans in the event of a loss. From what I've seen, most on the Republican side are being fairly pragmatic about it. Basically, "Well, we just didn't get enough votes, dang it — better luck next time." The Dems, however, are already testing out a panorama of excuses. There's a good article on it here.
Observation #2:
The closer the race has gotten, the more we've heard the phrase "too close to call" come out of the media.
Observation #3:
In the 2000 election, Al Gore won the popular vote but George Bush won the electoral vote and the office. Afterward, there was a plethora of articles arguing that the Electoral College should be scrapped. There was also a bunch in 2004 and we saw a small flurry of them this time around.
The irony is that it's the close elections that argue against their case. Only in an election controlled by electoral votes would we see such minor states (no offense) as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota making headlines:
Romney Forces See Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota Ripe for Turning Red
Romney Campaign Has Eyes on Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania
Axelrod: I'll Shave If Obama Loses Pa., Mich. or Minn.
Which isn't to say there isn't some controversy brewing:
American Mustache Institute: Axelrod's Mustache Wager 'Incredibly Irresponsible'
With November just around the bend, senior adviser to the Obama campaign David Axelrod made a hairy wager on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday: he will shave off his four-decade-old mustache on national television if Obama loses Minnesota, Michigan or Pennsylvania on Election Day.
Obama press secretary Jennifer Psaki doubled down on the wager later in the day, telling MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell: "I'll dye my hair black and wear a mustache" if Obama loses those states.
The American Mustache Institute isn't pleased with the wagers, especially the bet by Axe. "It's incredibly irresponsible for Axelrod to be playing games with such an exceptionally powerful mustache," institute chairman Dr. Aaron Perlut tells Whispers.
If the election was based on the popular vote, we'd be hearing nothing but who currently has the lead in California, Texas, Florida and New York. If a member of the media was reminded that people in Michigan also vote, his initial response might be, Why would they bother?
Observation #4:
Despite our best efforts to prevent it, apparently my political posts here have achieved recognition on a national level.
On Election Eve of the 2010 election, I was in a huge ballroom in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Washington branch of the Tea Party. It was quite the evening.
Was there a sense of history being made; a sense of wonderment and awe underscoring the room's emotions as the victorious evening wore on?
Absolutely.
I bet I heard "Can you believe it?" a hundred times from a hundred pairs of lips. I'd hesitate to resort to a hackneyed phrase such as a dream come true, but it was heading that direction quickly. We had all, in our own way, spent so much time and energy on the election, but without knowing what, if any, impact it would have. Had America awakened? Had it heard the message? Was it going to act?
And act, it did. And there was a lot more to it than just taking back the House and squelching the 'supermajority' in the Senate:
One thing that took me by surprise was how many state races were being followed closely. As a number of pundits have since pointed out, the capture of the state legislatures, and thus the ability to redraw the voting districts, was as much an accomplishment as the Congressional victories were, perhaps even more so.
Well, those of you reading my political posts since that day know well that I've never let the Tea Party spirit slip far from the discussion. I mentioned it a few times during the primaries, and then a few weeks ago:
Personally, I think it's going to be 2010 all over again. For those of you scoring at home, we had a mid-term election two years ago where the Repubs totally clobbered the Dems, taking back the House, almost taking back the Senate, and putting the fear of two words — Tea Party — into every Democrat's heart.
The good news is that you haven't heard a peep from them since then.
Good news, because the MSM didn't get the opportunity to liken them to the Wall Street Occupiers when they were having their fling, and good news because it appears the MSM has forgotten all about them at this point of the game. This false complacency is just fine with us.
And this cherished sense of security has lasted right up until just recently, when suddenly little articles like this started popping up. Despite our best efforts to keep this site private so that only the Maggie's Valued Readers™ can revel in these secret delights, it appears the cat's out of the bag:
Pols See Polls Point to Romney Triumph; 'Hidden Vote' to Crush Obama
The tidal wave of anti-debt, anti-big-government voters that swamped Democrats in the 2010 congressional elections is readying itself again, poised to sweep Mitt Romney into the Oval Office, some political observers say.
"It’s very, very likely," veteran Republican campaign pollster John McLaughlin said, predicting a Romney tsunami Tuesday.
"Romney has surged in all the target states," Mr. McLaughlin said. "The undecided vote is not really undecided. They overwhelmingly disapprove of the job the president has done and will largely vote against the incumbent. It’s a hidden vote that will vote against the president."
His prediction flies in the face of most polling, which shows a tight national race between Mr. Romney and President Obama, and state polls that show Mr. Obama leading in most battlegrounds. The only poll that shows Mr. Romney clearly winning is the respected Gallup national tracking poll of likely voters, which gives the Republican nominee a 5 percentage-point advantage.
Gallup also correctly predicted the 2010 wave that powered the GOP to capture more than five dozen seats in the House — based in large part on a swell of intensity for Republicans.
And catch the key phrase here:
"Not only is the coming wave taking place at the federal level, but the untold story is taking place at the state and local level, which will have massive political implications for decades to come," said National Tea Party Patriots co-founder and former national coordinator Mark Meckler, who is predicting a Romney win by 6 percentage points. "That wave is already in motion and cannot be reversed."
Yeah, well, when the only one talking about it is some no-name blogger on some backwater blog site, I guess that comes under the heading of untold.
Luckily, it's far too late for the MSM to take preventative measures. But for those actual undecideds out there, an article like the above could make all the difference. Some people just need their feelings explained to them.
"What you're feeling is the spirit of the Tea Party, of our Founding Fathers and what they believed in."
"Ah, now I see."
Put another vote in the 'R' column.
Oh, and one ironic note about our 'untold story'?
If Romney wins, it'll be blamed on veiled racism and innate white prejudice and a failure to embrace the new world economy and an aversion to science and a host of other implacable reasons.
In other words, our untold story will remain untold.
And, not surprisingly, the White House also pays close attention to Maggie's Farm:
Obama Demonizes Tea Party In Final Days Of Campaign
After failing to mention the Tea Party by name on the stump in 2012, President Barack Obama mentioned the movement during at least five stump speeches on Thursday and Friday.
Running against the Tea Party movement that successfully stymied his grassroots agenda and energized conservatives and independents to give Republicans in the House a majority, Obama said Mitt Romney would "rubber-stamp the Tea Party agenda in Congress."
Jenny Beth Martin, National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, said Obama was continuing to divide Americans by badmouthing "millions of grassroots" Tea Party activists across the nation.
So even Team O has picked up on the vibes. Alas. Too little, too late.
Back to that evening two years ago:
I suppose the irony is that, for the most part, the American voters, themselves, don't truly understand what they just did, and the brink they just pulled us back from.
But everyone in that room sure did. And I would add that there was also a feeling of "the job's just begun", in the sense that some enclaves were yakking about potential 2012 candidates and which old-world senator was next on the hit list. In the Tea Partier's mind, 2010 was "a good start", but nothing more. There is much work yet to be done.
Indeed.
