Count me as a reluctant pessimist. Outsiders may see qualities that we natives can't, but I suspect there's a bit of misplaced idealism there. Inertia itself will keep up our appearances for awhile and allow Mr. Delingpole his rosy opinion. I hope to God he's right and I'm wrong, but reality is telling me something else that can't be denied... my solace is in knowing that somehow, somewhere on earth, freedom will always survive.

Thanks so much for the extra goodies! I'm a big Paglia fan, went through withdrawal while she was writing her book... now that it's finished it's nice to see her back in action, feisty as ever.

There is still a disconnect for me. What were all those massive Romney crowds about, if not rural white voters? Why did they come out in droves in 2010 but not 2012, when even more was at stake?

Agreed. While the guy is obviously a good man, of the top ten pundits on our side, he's the most inarticulate. The only reason to watch him is for his guests.  Years ago a caller asked him where the term "Kool-Aid drinkers" came from, and he didn't know. All he did was define it, and it took him three minutes to do that.

I'm not from Ohio (but I can spell it). If that interview with Luntz put a chill down anyone's spine, just keep in mind the Chick-Fil-A vote. If anything can put Romney over the top in all these swing states, that'll do it.

We bought two R/R yard signs. As I was putting one up, a neighbor bought the other one off me on the spot. The next day another neighbor had FIVE yard signs up, and the guy next door had one up too.

ZERO Obama signs anywhere.

Won't be close.

California is so far gone we might as well have already cracked off into the ocean. But if Romney  gets out here and talks up his energy policy, even the ditziest of the ditzes will at least listen for once. $5.00/gallon gas can't be ignored.

You're wrong. Ryan on his worst day is miles better than Biden on his best day. It'll end up being a waste of Ryan's time, but we plebes will get some entertainment value out of it.

No.

Thanks Albert, I needed that. I've been all doom and gloom lately.

People who have neither the desire nor the responsibility to learn a thing about American founding principles. Not only do they mislead, they vote.

It sure does. It works on exactly the people you targeted: the half-educated. The ones who get all their "news" from the Yahoo home page. They have absolutely zero understanding of the catastrophe we're facing or of America's founding principles. Try to convince them otherwise, and your words flutter off like moths.

Decades of statist indoctrination have made it a hard, steep mountain for conservatives.

Can you please skip what we think about this and tell us your "really interesting, big, but mostly overlooked academic datasets?"

Spend some money in California. I know, I know, we're utterly and completely liberated from reality out here, but that's the beauty of it. Nobody will suspect that the growing discomfort with Obama will actually translate into votes. But I'm willing to bet that California can be seduced back to the light side - maybe not in this election, but we have to start somewhere. Once people see enough R votes, the herd mentality can gain enough inertia to tip us back over. We once were a reliably conservative state, for God's sake! I may be dreaming, but this state has nowhere to go but up, and I believe reality is beginning to break through the media mud. A pendulum has to swing back at some point. Why not start prodding it now?

The OJ Simpson trial. That was the straw that broke my supine liberal back.

Good advice. I've stayed away from the tit-for-tat, which is always a tar pit. I haven't talked to the neighbors yet but I have had some conversations with work buddies and those have gone well. Civility is easier to come by when you're sitting in the next cube over.

Incidentally, I work in the film industry and for the first time in 20 years I sense some real disappointment with Dems. They're having a tough time crossing the divide, but they aren't happy campers by any stretch. Could be there's something afoot...