After Bush

While George W. Bush may not be the worst president in the history of the United States, he certainly seems to be the most expensive one, costing Americans a couple of trillions of dollars in war and a couple of trillions of dollars in financial crisis at the very least (not counting the human, economic, and environmental costs to the rest of the world).

This ought to be the year when, despite assorted left-wing candidates like Nader and McKinney taking about 15% of the votes, Obama will still prevail, the GOP cast into the dustbin of history, but Americans being who they are (e.g., one in ten Americans is said to be "on the lookout for the Antichrist"), and Obama being who he is (the top recipient of campaign contributions from "Finance/Insurance/Real Estate"), the moral and economic bankruptcy of the nation under W gives the Democratic candidate only a slim advantage:

When asked how the Wall Street crisis might affect their presidential vote, slightly more registered voters say it increases their chances of voting for Barack Obama (29%) than say this about John McCain (23%), with roughly 4 in 10 saying it will have no impact on their decision. (Jeffrey M. Jones, "Wall Street Crisis May Give Obama Slight Political Benefit," Gallup.com)