Some bleak amusement can be found when the press describes "John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate," as if McCain had anything to do with the choosing. The hapless McCain is not canny enough to have named a woman as his veep at the exact moment Democrats were lamenting Barack Obama's refusal to allow Hillary Clinton on the ticket, or to unveil Palin in the immediate afterglow of Obama's speech at the DNC.
No, McCain in this instance as all others is subservient to his masters, Karl Rove and the shadowy cabal that truly run the United States. Palin is obviously underqualified to be president--a gig she'd likely inherit; given McCain's age and rage issues, even Republican insiders don't expect him to be able to complete two full terms as commander-in-chief--but experience and competence are hardly issues here. McCain and Palin would be as Bush is, mere lapdogs, whimpering Annakins to Rove and Cheney's Palpatine.
Ah yes, Cheney. You don't expect him to go away, do you? If McCain is elected, rest assured, he will be there, his power consolidated. If the Democrats blow the best shot they will likely have at the White House, there will be nothing to stop the neocon machine from making over the country in its own image. The overturn of Roe v. Wade will be the obvious starting point, but whatever shreds of the Constitution remain in place will be summarily burned, more and more power will accrue to the hands of the outrageously wealthy few, and America as it has always been known will cease to exist.
Assusming, of course, Obama loses. His defeat is by no means assured, but the selection of Joe Biden as his running mate was a serious misstep--Biden is, let's face it, kind of a dick--although Obama's supporters have faced the choice with a glazed stoicism, feigning enthusiasm even as visions of the Titanic, the Hindenburg and Dukakis in a tank flash through their minds.
Whatever an Obama loss would mean to the party faithful, there would be another group even more devastated, though nobody talks about it much. Obama and his campaign seldom mention the race issue, but we're all aware of it, even if we pretend otherwise. If the first African-American candidate with a real shot at the presidency loses to the cranky, obscenely rich white guy, a clear message will be sent to a considerable portion of the population: You don't matter, you have never mattered, you never will matter. There is the only the ruling class, and those beneath it.
