It's over.

Sometime in late September of 08 I wrote here that the election was over. Obama would win and that was that. Scandals and associations that would have sunk any other politician were poo-pooed by the media to such a degree that it became utterly clear that the establishment candidate in 2008 was BHO. They would have him in the WH come hell or high water.

I got some grief from McCain/Palin supporters for that post. But it was just a prediction and a pretty easy one at that.

My love/hate relationships with predictions goes on. Here's one: The heath care debate is over. The establishment won. Everything from here on out is theater. From the LA TIMES:

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), a centrist, said after a recent party caucus that broad agreement had developed to shore up Medicare subsidies for prescription drugs and to make it harder for insurance companies to limit coverage based on preexisting conditions. "The prospects for incremental improvement are still reasonably good," said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster close to the congressional leadership. "But there's a lot more realism about how hard this is."...
The political price: Any bipartisan agreement would probably abandon a proposal from liberals to create a government-sponsored insurance option as an alternative to private health insurance...

What this means is simple: Some regulation on the worst parts of the health insurance industry will be put in place. That's it. More people will get insurance because pre-existing condition denials will be banned. This is good. Drug prices will not be regulated. Obama already caved there. If there is a battle in the Fall it will be over mandating health insurance. The insurance industry loves this so much the cries of tyranny from Conservatives will suddenly go silent on this point. Money is king after all.

Bayh's statement signals that Obama's central promise in this arena - a public option - is dead. The progressive caucus in the House will have a hissy but at the end of the day enough will vote for something they can call reform. In the more liberal districts challenges from the Left may emerge. They will be rendered irrelevant quickly by the DNC's cash. Most in the Progressive caucus will assess the landscape and cave like Obama.

The sound and fury over the next few months will signify nothing. Both parties will use the debate to get their bases in a lather. The GOP will decry government interference. The Democrats will rail against "Big Insurance" and corporate malfeasance.When the dust settles the system we have now will be in place with a few tweaks around the edges. ( In fact the insurance companies will be in a stronger position.) Everyone will claim victory. The end.

Some readers here will applaud this prediction. Some will not. My position is not the point of this post. It is a prediction. I've made a couple here. McCain would lose. Obama will fall below 50% in September (I said June originally...but I allowed myself to cheat in March.) And the one above....sort of...the facts are already out there. Like Obama's election victory I'm more or less stating the obvious and calling it a prediction.

I'm perfectly content with the possibility I am wrong. We shall see.

Obama gives Senator Clinton the finger - literally

Hope and change have gone out the window for Obama and, since he got his ass kicked in last night's debate, he decided to get vengeance by flipping off the Principal at his high school graduation. Clearly, the other kids love it. He is an appalling embarrassment. Listen to the crowd react when he gives Hillary the finger and you will know how dangerous the Obama mob is. He starts with "hope" but he can turn them ugly in an instant. They are dangerous. I have been saying it for weeks.

And yes, he gave her the finger. Only the Obama mob and other idiots will make excuses for this brazen, arrogant, cocky behavior. He is a punk and he must be stopped.

Hillary, level him.

The debate tonight.

I did not watch the debate tonight but by all accounts Hillary cleaned Obama's clock. He was, at long last, asked about his friend the terrorist, William Ayres.