First Things

If McCain were somehow to win? A reminder that everything always comes down to logistics:

Republican Washington is exhausted and bereft. After eight years, a great deal of talent is eager to leave government. Whereas there are several Democrats eager to fill each junior-level post in an Obama White House, scaring up Republicans willing to serve for another four years will prove tougher than you might think. It is hard to see how McCain could govern successfully without drawing on the talent of centrist Democrats. At the same time, politically savvy Democrats will be strongly inclined to wait out a McCain presidency, confident that Obama, Hillary Clinton, or some other Democrat will win the White House in 2012. And who could blame them?

I’ll say that again because it can’t be repeated too often: Everything always comes down to logistics. And that’s why, despite the tightening polls, I’m pretty sure Obama will win today. He’s got the ground operation — sometimes a below-ground operation — that can’t be beat. He’s got the money — even if some of it was obtained questionably — in amounts never before seen. And he’s got the organization — even if some of it seems quasi-fascist or -communist — that McCain can’t match.

Me, I’m going to vote my conscience and drink heavily. What’s your plan?