As a matter of explanation, not apology, this kind of scenario will be the rule, not the exception, in Obama's presidency. Though by some estimates he may have won by 20 million more votes due to fraud, Obama suffers from two vulnerabilities. The first and most obvious is that he is a perceived "black" man in a "white" dominated ruling elite. Given the history of oppression to the point of lynching, our new president will have the specter of assassination always lurking in the background.

Obama's second difficulty is that he didn't serve in the armed forces. It shouldn't matter. The being that he is replacing is a deserter. Unfortunately, it does matter. He can easily be bullied and manipulated by his National Security Advisor (a former Marine general) and by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Because of the war momentum created by the military industrial complex, enemies have to be found in order to justify the bloated Pentagon budget. It could be East Asia today, and Eurasia tomorrow. One would think that the "war on terror" would cause some propaganda problems, since there is no clear nation to attack. Such is not the case, though, as we have seen with "Iraq." Threats can easily be conjured up by proclaiming one nation after another as either an "immanent threat," a "terrorist" state, or a supporter of "terrorism."

We may end up waging war of one kind or another against "Iran." From the perspective of our foreign policy establishment, it's like gambling in Vegas: Can the "U.S." wage endless war against "terrorism" in the face of an impending collapse of our economic system? From the foreign policy standpoint, the economy is exogenous - outside their system, outside their realm of consideration.

What matters to our foreign policy establishment was revealed on a Meet the Press segment eight days ago (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28493781/page/6/): David Sanger - "They (The "Iranians") could declare at any point in the first year or two of Barack Obama's presidency, 'Hey, we can make a bomb.' And at that point you have changed the balance of power."

Thus was revealed "our" entire "Mideast" policy - towards "Israel," towards the "Palestinians," towards "Iran," and towards everyone else in the region. All that matters is the "balance of power." "We" will wage any war, drop any bomb, overthrow any government, and sponsor any occupation, as long as the "balance of power" is preserved. And what is that "balance of power?" Why, balanced in "our" favor, of course.

I was at work all day, and missed the coverage. I suppose If I had cable I would have been able to record it, but c'est la vie. At least I have the next couple of days to enjoy the events.

It's likely to be a letdown when Wednesday arrives. That's when the problem solving begins, and the prospects are not good. Alexander Cockburn wrote a great essay in CounterPunch on Sunday comparing Obama's team with Clinton's in '93, among other things. It's worth a read.

I still will be celebrating this week. Obama may be under the influence of old, tired, establishmentarians, but he will change his tune when his economic plan fails, which it will. He will have what I call his Bay of Pigs moment when he realizes he has been had, and will likely chase the money changers out of the temple. That will be when his presidency really begins.

One thing we'll be saying repeatedly over the next four to eight years is "Is this all they've got?"

What I will be repeating as much as I can stand is that it is all fake: these aren't people with real beliefs other than power, disrespect, and money. They are hired to say the things they do. In that sense, they are whores.

I suspect that over the next few years that Fox will find the going rough. I don't think Obama is going to put up with this crap indefinitely, and may take Fox on in one or more ways. Fox also is likely to find that lower ratings might force Rupert Murdoch to make some programming and/or personnel changes. Roger Ailes might find this a good time to retire.

It is the nature of phenomena to wax and wane. There was a time before Fox and there will be a time after. That time might be sooner than we would expect.