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• Monday, October 6, 2008 06:27 PM

  @BrachiatingApe...Terror Not In The Cards--Yet?

  You've sketched out the only alternative scenario I can think of: there is a Machiavellian plan in the works which accepts (or requires) periods of Democratic control.

  Yes, these periods might be useful--for placing blame, for stirring up the base against the opposing party. Or to simply punish the Republicans who were not allegiant to the corporatist agenda.

  I find it unlikely, however, based on the way much of the Rovian crowd acts. They are like children throwing temper tantrums--impulsive, shortsighted. The highly visible guys, at least, clearly aren't capable of planning decades in advance. And having to accept losing as part of a greater plan? That seems incomprehensible. They don't tolerate losing an argument, much less an election!

  Sure, Bush, Rove, McCain...they may all be window dressing. The men behind the curtain--Cheney and the rest of the PNAC crowd, the alphabet soup of agencies increasingly enmeshed with our national security appartus--maybe they can wait out an Obama presidency.

  But some of those guys are getting really old. Cheney has racked up how many heart attacks? And so much damage has been done to the Constitution already. Killing it off completely is within reach right now more than any time in our country's history. Add the shock of a faltering world economy and an unprecedented U.S. monetary crisis and you've got the perfect storm right now.

  I don't think these guys can afford to lose the "gains" they've made over the past eight years. I don't think they're going to let McCain--a guy they've been lukewarm about at best--lose it for them when the libertarian dream of starting with a clean slate is within reach.

  None of this even takes into account the Rapture contingent, which has certainly, though less obviously, driven the push to reduce government's size to the point where it can be "drowned in a bathtub". You think these radicals can wait through eight years of anti-christ (i.e., Obama) rule before they're escorted through the pearly gates?

  Like I said: perfect storm. I don't know how the neocons can pass on this opportunity. If ever they're seeking Osama Bin Laden's help, it is now.

  I see one ray of hope, however. If Obama is so far ahead that even a terrorist attack (real or fabricated) could not be counted on to swing voters back into War Hero McCain's camp, perhaps any such plan would be aborted.

  My guess is that we're going to be treated to another timely Bin Laden appearance regardless of how the polls trend. If Osama tilts the polls in favor of McCain, we may see a follow-up scare in the form of an attack.

  Naturally, I hope my calculus is all wrong and that Obama just runs away with the race, sending the neocons into early retirement.

  —ProGrocker Read ProGrocker's other letters
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