We're into the final few days, and Nate Silver's 538 Blog is giving President Obama nearly an 84% chance of winning, and is likely to capture over 300 electoral votes.
That doesn't mean that Romney cannot win, but it does mean that nearly everything has to go right for the Republicans on Tuesday to manage a win, and that seems, to quote Ralph Wiggum, "unpossible." Frankly, things haven't gone well lately for Mittens. The President's response to Hurricane Sandy has been positive, while highlighting Romney's pledge to do away with FEMA and privatize disaster relief. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the Republican convention's keynote speaker praising Obama, coupled with Romney's bungled "relief" campaign rally didn't help either. Couple that with the disaster that was the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, and you have encapsulated something that I've been saying for a long time. Elected officials who believe that government can be a positive good tend to be able to deliver when the chips are down. Elected officials who have a fundamental belief that government is the "problem" and cannot work, deliver governments that fail to work when a working system is necessary. The disgraced and disgraceful Michael "heckuvajob Brownie" Brown getting on TV and complaining that Obama responded "too quickly" was the icing on the cake.
Perhaps the last "best" hope for Willard was Friday's jobs report, which turned out to be not bad at all.
Romney could indeed win, but if the projections hold, an Obama win seems increasingly likely.
Now, if we wind up with another situation where the winner in the electoral college winds up with fewer popular votes than the loser, regardless of party, can we start having a serious discussion about getting rid of the EC?