A glimmer of hope (Edited)

• Republican Congressman Thad Cochran says McCain "sends a cold chill down my spine".
• Conservative pundit Bill Kristol criticizes McCain.
• Soldiers criticize McCain.
• Dennis Hopper votes Democrat for the first time.
• Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee vows to vote for Obama.
• Ron Paul endorses Constitution Party candidate.
• McCain defends Obama from psychos at Town Hall, and gets booed by Republicans.

These sorts of stories are filling the papers, or at least the online sites, or at least the left-leaning blogs. The Republicans are setting up a circular firing line around McCain. The rats are deserting the sinking ship. Does this give me hope that McCain will lose?

Not really. He's not going to throw in the towel, and voter fraud, voter caging, and vote tampering may still give him the election.

• EDIT: That statement was a lie. I do hope, in fact, I do expect, that McCain will lose and Obama will win. Truth is, while I do think there's a chance the election will be stolen, I know there's a better chance it'll reflect the will of the people. Voters are getting savvier, and more scrutiny is being placed on our election system. The system hit it's low 4 years ago, and is now improving. It may still be stolen, and we must remain on guard, but there's a very high likelihood that the will of the people will be done, and I believe the momentum of that will is with Obama. If I didn't believe the election was capable of representing the will of the majority of Americans, I would be stockpiling guns and medical supplies, not encouraging people to vote.

But I do have hope. There's a chance that these cracks will continue to fracture. There's a chance that the Republican Party will shatter under it's own weight. If that happens, it won't result in Democrats winning forever after. All it will take is one election cycle (not even a Presidential one) with an ineffective and fractured Republican Party. If the Repubs crash and burn next month, and are in pieces come 2010, Liberals and Progressives and Greens and Wanna-Be-Anarchists will realize that they don't have to pretend to be Democrats any more. That's gonna be a good day, it's something I can be hopeful for. In the short-term mean-time, I'm voting Obama. Sorry, Jake.