Well, turnout appears to be huge. Believe what you want, stand where you want and with you want, but you cannot deny people are into this election!

Personally, I feel really good about that. We've got an big batch of problems, but apathy does not appear to be one of the major ones.

Here is my completely arm-chair prediction. Dems win big tonight, Bush becomes lame duck, Obama wins Dem. nomination in '08, only to lose in a close race to McCain. Iraq continues to be front and center with compromises on both sides. And the scandals will be forgotten by January.

The REDneck south will make sure of the McCain win in 08' against Obama.

Interesting...

I don't think it's gonna come down to McCain -vs- Obama. The shakedown from the people powered grassroots will cause both parties to reconsider just what is and what isn't an electable candidate.

We will be surprised at who gets nominated.

My gut says Dems get the house, Senate ends up being a gain, but not enough to flip it.

We see a significant percentage of races settled in court long after the election is over.

Petty scandals forgotten. Those that involve money, votes and abuses of power will not be forgotten.

***Leiberman projected to win!****

(Good grief, now that's going to force the Dems to really do something about him. That will be an issue going into the new year. They need to bust his ass down to just another Indy)

Well, Herb might have called that one spot on.

Missing, yeah, Obama is somewhat of a long-shot. But the comparisons to JFK are creepy. JFK was also a longshot, but his charisma, clear messege, and all-around appeal put him over the top (perhaps with help from his Father, but that's another story). Living in Illinois, I saw Obama as a REAL candidate. The country is aching for new blood, and he could be the best solution. I still doubt he could win the electoral collage though.

He's a rock star for sure.

I like him. I just don't think we are set for quite that big of a change. Who knows though. It's a long time yet...

One of the problems this early is that many "skeletons" could be unveiled. 40 years ago, this was less important. (Maybe that was a better system of appraising candidates, as none of us are perfect.) Afterall, there is no question JFK had faults that might preclude him from being elected today.

Every flaw is now exposed, not the case a half century ago.

But watch Obama. I have a gut feel that this country is ready for someone new, fresh, and appealing. Obama could easily win most blue, urban areas. Whether it is enough to win is anyone's guess. And I'm not a democrat trying to push the agenda. I'm just a political watcher who has an interest and fascination with American politics.

I will vote for Obama in 08 if he runs, no questions.

Herb, well, he's was wrong! 70% of his talking points will be no longer applicable after tonight. I hope you're reading Herb, because you and your beliefs have been repudiated tonight!!

I gave my commentary on Herb in another thread. That 70% figure is rather on the conservative side, isn't it Rose?

Here's my problem with McCain: People on BOTH sides of the aisles see that man as horribly compromised. He sold himself out after the Rove raping he recieved in 2000, and the dead look in his eyes when he was posing, arms draped around Bush, for photo ops in 2004 seemed to have stuck in a LOT of people's heads, I think.

McCain sold his integrity for political capital and the big problem there is that all McCain really had was his integrity. And whether it's totally gone, the perception is that he gave it up to stump for Bush, and that's really gonna hurt the man in a couple years. If Bush managed to smear him and McCain couldn't fight it off in 2000 when he was fresh and clean, how's he gonna hold that back when he's compromised and tired?

Obama's going to have a nice ride simply because he's new, he's young, and his major talking point seems to be this:

"I don't think like everyone else here does."

And that is REALLY going to strike a chord with a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum.

Oh, and if you guys can track it down, I highly suggest watching Harold Ford Jr's concession speech. It was one of the best I've seen in quite a long time, and I'm sure that a lot of Tennessee voters (at least the ones who don't hate black people) watched it and wished they could take their vote for the opposition back.

I'm ticked off that Fox interrupted "House" to air live coverage of Saxton's (so nice I almost felt sorry for him) concession speech, and then 20 minutes of that annoying airhead reporter just babbling about nothing for 20 minutes until (drunk?) Babs Roberts started making a fool of herself yelling into the mike and then waiting for Teddy to show up. By then it was 9:50 and why they just couldn't wait 10 minutes to show it (condensed to 2 minutes) on the 10 PM news beats the crap outta me. I now hate Portland's Fox channel.

I'm peeved! I wanted to see the whole second half of "House"! Pass the Midol, please!

Obama strikes me as a young firebrand, the type of guy the Democrats can hold up as their new poster child. He's young, charismatic, full of ideas ... he just screams the "IT" factor. He could be to the Democrats what Reagan was to the Republicans in 1980 - and it could bs under similar circumstances - the country being led by a wildly unpopular President, turmoil around us, our worldwide name in the toilet.

And I am personally glad to see Lieberman winning. Yes he's pro-Iraq war, but the fact that he has the cojones to stick out on the chopping block and speak for himself, not just on Iraq but plenty of other topics near and dear to Democrats hearts.

Well, we'll see if Bush can find some sort of middle ground, some diplomacy in his simpleton mind because he is going to need it. My guess is that he doesn't.

I don't know what was worse, Merkie -- having House interupted (and never adequately concluded) or having to sit through the Fox and Saxon drivel in the vain hope that House would come back on.

There are going to be an awful lot of out of work Republican politicians scratching W off their Christmas card list this year.

Oh, thank you, Ms. Danner! I knew I wasn't the only one...

Grrr. Fox owes us a repeat, THIS week!