By Jesse Masai in Washington, DC
As the race for the White House between Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain draws to a close, Washington’s watchers continue to split hairs on what life shall be like after election night.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in think tanks, university lecture rooms, the mainstream media, blogs, government offices, and social places.
Within both conservative and liberal think tanks, where senior retired government officials and prominent scholars serve, a consensus is emerging that this election is Obama’s to lose.
At a bloggers’ briefing at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC on Tuesday for instance, the received wisdom was that Democraats are likely to sweep the board this year and that Republicans must begin preparing for 2012 on November 5.
READ MORE
Ash consciousness: When leaders forget they are dust, nation bleeds
Inside Kenya's battle to wrap up China trade pact
The Heritage Foundation is the nerve centre of conservative thought in American affairs; whose last revered patron saint was Ronald Reagan, US president between 1980 and 1988.
It is at such forums that conservatives are reviewing the past eight years during which their party has held sway on the Capitol Hill, even as they ponder the future of America’s domestic and foreign affairs under Obama.
There is, in all the fora the Standard on Sunday has been allowed access, a sense that Republicans have not been faithful to their ideals much of the past eight years. There is an emerging fear Democrats might use their time in office to go against everything the former still hold dear.
Social conservatives, traditionally the Republican’s power base, are particularly wary that Obama might make changes on the Supreme Court that will be more sympathetic towards abortion and gay marriage, twin-issues that aided President George Bush’s campaign in 2004, but whose gravity has been overshadowed by the economic crisis in which Obama has appeared stronger.
The Republicans’ introspection continues at the Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com), while the Democrats’ glee is laid bare at the Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com).
The two websites constitute the online spin rooms for all the latest gossip from the campaign trail, and sometimes attract some of the most bare-knuckled writing.
None demonstrate this better than both Mr James Carville and Mr Paul Begala, who in 1992 engineered President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore’s victory.
"As Barack Obama and the Democrats appear poised for an historic sweep, we have a message for our Republican friends: It is time to point fingers," they wrote on Monday.
And they continued: "You can’t blame the press or minorities. Sure, media bashing is part of the conservative catechism, and minority voters are likely to support Barack Obama in record numbers. But finger pointing is only interesting when you point at someone on your team. Republicans need a civil war — a steel cage death match — to sort out what they stand for. Scapegoating outsiders won’t purge the party of what’s rotting it on the inside."
Republican Party
"The Republican Party is atomising, and each faction must participate in Project Blame. The neo-cons may want to blame the theocons. The economic conservatives will likely blame the big spenders. The conflagration will be so multi-dimensional we’ll need a programme to sort out the players," they said, before coming up with a raft of reality-check questions for their opponents.
What does it mean to be a Republican?
Do Republicans support laissez-faire or nationalised banking?
Do Republicans support a balanced budget or half-trillion-dollar deficits?
Do Republicans want a "humble foreign policy" like George W Bush, or preventive war against countries that pose no threat, like, umm, George W Bush?
Are Republicans the party of limited government or a vast medicare prescription drug benefit?
Are they wary of Big Brother or eager to expand warrant-less wiretaps?
Do they support Christian values or torture?
Are they the party that believes that cutting-edge technology can shoot a missile out of the sky or the party that believes humans and dinosaurs walked the earth simultaneously?
They then gloated: "These questions should define the 2012 GOP presidential primaries. So start blaming, all you would-be candidates. That means you, Ms Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist. Hurry up. You only have 1,165 days left until the Iowa Caucuses."
Away from online communities, others are offering measured previews of what might follow election night.
All reputable polls indicate that Senator Barack Obama is headed for a victory on November 4, maybe even a landslide victory.
In addition, Democrats are predicted to win major gains in the US Congress, says Dr Dean Curry, head of the Department of Politics at Messiah College in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
