…gives the election to John McCain.
I’ve taken a short break from election madness to try and see it from a different perspective – I’ve been talking to friends in Pennsylvania and non-political friends from around the country and around my block and cannot help but arrive at a single conclusion – barring some huge gaffe, some great scandal, John McCain will be the 44th President of the United States.
Here is one particularly interesting anecdote:

Two friends have voted Republican in each of the last three elections. They are white, upper income, have two children, and have loved Barack Obama. They saw him as the outside agent of change, the unifier, but more importantly, they saw him as an honest politician above the fray.
I use the past tense for a reason. They are disillusioned and angry and will not vote for him in November. Why? Because their hopes have been dashed and they see him as the worst of all possible things – a man who has wantonly and cynically manipulate hope for his own greedy political ends.
It wasn’t one thing but rather an accumulation of all the things – Wright, the bitter comment, the debate, etc.
I asked whether they would vote for Sen. Clinton. They laughed heartily. John McCain is their man now. He is the safe choice. He will keep things between the guard rails for the next four years. After that all bets are off.

Clinton and Obama have destroyed each other, destroyed massive goodwill that millions of Americans had toward the Democratic party, and reminded everyone why they hate politics and politicians. It really doesn’t matter who wins later today or by how much – both candidates are alread losers… one just gets out of the race more quickly.