Saturday, October 25, 2008

The Playing Field


Could John McCain's demise be a fait accompli 10 days before the election? The permutations don't bode well: Give him Ohio (20) and Florida (27). Give him North Carolina (15) and even Virginia (13) now leaning towards Obama. Throw in the traditional Republican strongholds of Indiana (11), Montana (3) and North Dakota (3) surprisingly in play. Toss in hotly-contested Nevada (5) and Missouri (11). You know what - I'm feeling generous: Give him New Hampshire (4) because Palin's a Hockey Mom.

Final score: 269-269. A veritable tsunami of GOP support in the final week still doesn't give McCain the victory math. However, in the case of a tie, the 12th Amendment requires the House of Representatives to determine the President-Elect with each state's newly elected delegation casting only one vote. And that means Joe the Rodeo Clown, Joe the Dairy Queen Manager and Joe the Toothless Old Buzzard Whittling Wood And Spittin' Tobacco Juice On The Porch Of The General Store - you know, the three folks comprising the total population of Wyoming - carry equal weight in this doomsday scenario as the 37,000,000 citizens residing in California.

A disquieting thought until you realize that the Democrats currently control 27 state delegations in the House and are expected to make further gains this election. Still, chilling to let your darkest fears for the country creep in to your consciousness. The House debate dedicated to breaking the tie would make the rancor exchanged during the 2000 election fiasco look like a friendly disagreement among gentlemen.

1 comment:

Warm Apple Pie said...

If you want to get more apocalyptic, I think if the House ends in a tie, the matter shifts to the Senate. If the Senate is deadlocked, then - as Sarah Palin doesn't really know - the VP will casted the deciding vote for President.

Dick Cheney? Did it just get colder in here?