My sense is that there is a lot of energy out there that is looking for direction. It gets directed or misdirected in various ways. Guys get punched. People commit suicide. Journalists panic. And so on. Barack Obama can ride this wave of panic and energy into the White House. And so far he’s been better at harnessing hostility and anger than John McCain, who was given a golden opportunity to run against Congress but has so far been unwilling to get off the the statesman platform. This may stem from McCain’s desire to bring the country through the crisis in bipartisan shape. Obama, on the other hand, is aiming I think to be the Last Man Standing.

But events are pushing McCain into scorched earth territory. Maybe he now realizes that whatever happens there is no going back to the old order. Whether Washington is turned into ACORN central or the place simply falls apart in a big barroom brawl is yet to be determined by events. But I suspect that everyone — the politicians, the big media people, the old movers and shakers — they are headed for a smash. Some will survive, but the game will have changed. And the first order of the day is survive. There will be no prizes for second place.