We're Back (With Update)

The trip to Wine Country and The Bay Area was great. I hope to post some pictures soon.

It was interesting to not pay too much attention to politics during the last several days. The biggest surprises for me on that front upon my return were (1) Obama has taken a lead in Indiana, (2) North Dakota and Montana are now too close to call, (3) McCain only has a three-point lead in Georgia, and (4) McCain only has a two-point lead in Arizona.

Frustration has really started to grip the Extreme Right. I was listening to radical right-winger Bill Cunningham's show driving over the pass last night. I almost drove off the road a couple times due to laughter. He and the rest of the Kool-Aid Chuggers are really angry at McCain for refusing to re-introduce Rev. Jeremiah Wright back into the campaign. They seriously believe that McCain would win if he simply pursued the Obama-Wright connection.

Cunningham complained that only half the country knows that the Democrats actually control Congress, not the GOP. It was fun hearing the other side bitch about the stupidity of voters for a change, particularly given that the GOP has historically relied on the idiocy of the American people to win elections. Cunningham was really pushing the notion that the "Reid/Pelosi/Obama Troika" will bring ruination to this country.

UPDATE: Former Bush speechwriter David Frum explains why McCain is so far behind right now:

After months and months of wan enthusiasm among Republicans, these last weeks have at last energized the core of the party. But there's a downside: The very same campaign strategy that has belatedly mobilized the Republican core has alienated and offended the great national middle, which was the only place where the 2008 election could have been won. * * *

One wonders if McCain could have secured the GOP nomination without pandering to the extreme elements of his party. But that's all water under the bridge now.