The State of the Election

Things are looking bleak for the Republican party these days. The events of the past two weeks have only served a steep downhill slide for the right - a slide the election will punctuate with the sharpest of exclamation points.

Ted Stevens' chances of being re-elected look extremely bleak. The state of Alaska, having become a national focus since the Republican National Convention, is becoming a sort of pariah with charges of ethics violation and corruption pouring from the Land of the Midnight Sun. The largest of which looms the indictment and subsequent conviction of Stevens, the patriarch of the Republican side of the Senate. Begich seems to be a shoe-in after the events of yesterday. Even if Stevens were elected, he would almost certainly resign the position, causing Governor Sarah Palin to possibly offer up a special replacement before an emergency election. If Palin loses her shot at the Vice Presidency, would she take a stab at Alaskan Junior Senator?

Speaking of Palin, with the slow bleeding of the McCain ticket as of late, sources from inside the campaign have been trickling allegations of her "going rogue". Talking points go unheeded and untouched, and Palin appears to be reading off her own script more and more. Is this just indignation over the campaign staffers holding her leash too tight, or does she have the hubris to see herself as the new light of the Republican party? I suppose if Stevens does miraculously secure re-election, we'll see for ourselves whether or not she seizes the opportunity for a power grab.

And how about that election? With the McCain campaign seemingly becoming more and more desperate for a talking point to latch onto, they've shifted to the image of "Obama the Redistributer", with no lack of "Obama the Socialist" innuendo. The desperation has become more frenzied and with it the red-blue balance of power blurs from royal purple to a more indigo shade. States regarded as reliable for the right - Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana - have made huge leaps left. The RNC even tossed several hundred thousand dollars at Montana, a state no one would have dreamed they would need to spend money in a few months ago.

One week from tonight we will see how the polls stack up against the ballot boxes. Keep your breath bated for just a while longer.