"Great, Kid! Now Don't Get Cocky!"

Okay. We're what, 3 weeks out? I've been a Romney guy since 2007, and certainly I've been pretty bullish about his chances this cycle. He's got a resume Obama can't compete with, we've all known that, and over the last several months he's shown he's got the abilities Obama can't compete with. He's smart enough, successful beyond most people's dreams, hard-working, good at managing and troubleshooting problems, generous, and willing to talk about the hard choices we're facing as a country. He's not perfect, doesn't pretend to be, enjoys politics and its facets, and doesn't let stumbles turn into pratfalls.

(Now, all that being said, assuming he wins, the next thought me and all the other conservatives will have is "alright, R2-Romney2 - prove to us you're not a run of the mill dipshit.")

I said "assuming he wins". Well, I've been assuming he wins for months now and for good reason, and absolutely nothing that's happened over the last few months has moved me one iota off of that position. In fact, the better Romney looks against the increasingly confused and desperate Obama, the more his chances increase. Do they even MAKE 40 state blowouts anymore? I don't know, but I can say safely as of now that Nov 6th 2012 is the best place to look for one.

Now, are there scenarios where Obama can pull out a win? Sure. But none of them are likely. The American people have taken his measure and found him wanting. Some people are disgusted by him, as I am; others simply have seen enough and will be willing to give the RomneyBot a chance or even stay home. And barring one of those weird edge-case scenarios (war, all the money blowing up, Romney pulling off his mask to reveal himself as a pig-nosed death alien from Aldeberan V) Romney's going to win, and most probably win big.

So for me that's a good bottle of bourbon to put in the cabinet and a really nice cigar or two for the humidor. November 6th will see TVs and radios on up and downstairs - TV's muted, radios loud - a fire in the downstairs fireplace, and the home project (I always try and schedule a home project for election night - keeps me from sitting down at my desk drinking and clicking refresh all night. I've done that before. It hurts the next day) will be putting in a new bookshelf.

In the end, predictions, feelings, and bluster all aside, all I can do is what everyone else who follows this crap does: cast my vote (hardly relevant in the presidential sense here in MN), cross my fingers, and hope.

Oh. And smoke cigars and drink bourbon. So the night can't be a complete loss.