Argh! Over-confidence!

I hate articles such as these! First of all, ain't nobody voted on nothing just yet, so don't get cocky! I am as horrified by the prospect of a McCain presidency as much as the next person- but OBAMA HASN'T WON A DAMN THING YET! Don't be publishing crap that proclaims he's got the general election pretty much sorted out! ARGH! The Left canNOT afford to get cocky about this election- there's way too much at stake.

First of all: Don't underestimate McCain. He may be older than dirt, but the GOP rank and file all but wrote him off in the primaries and look where he is now. He may not be the most exciting of candidates, but we're at war, the economy is taking a huge dump and people in the end, may not want to be excited.

Second of all: Don't underestimate this oil drilling thing. I've seen the usual screeds on the left, some of them sensible, some of them not, taking McCain, Bush and the GOP to task for promoting an end to the moratorium on offshore drilling. (Interestingly enough, per MPR this afternoon Tim Walz here in the MN-First District is proposing legislation that would force oil companies to return unused leases. And if oil companies aren't using leases that they could be using, then why do we need offshore drilling?) But regardless, this could be the wedge issue they could beat Obama with. Really and truly. Obama and Company need a clear cut plan to get relief to the gas pumps and they need it right now. And they need to prove that it is better than John McCain's. McCain further continues intelligent moves by asking for 45 more nuclear reactors. Another slap in the face that has the potential to lose this election for Obama. Nuclear power is clean and has the potential to be the perfect transitional technology to get us off fossil fuels until green technology is perfected. Nuke plants have to be met with the necessary investment to do that.

Basically, the Left has a problem with the environmental movement. It is right to protest domestic drilling plans, because if we don't match domestic drilling with the necessary investment in green tech, then we're not doing a damn thing to help ourselves. BUT- environmentalism doesn't get us relief at the gas pumps anytime soon. And make no mistake, right now, I think the first person to convince voters they can get cheaper gas prices faster might just win the election.

Third of all: My objections to the article aside, Jindal is a rising star within the GOP. If he can get re-elected in Louisiana and get it back on the right track, he'll be one to watch- maybe not in 2012- more likely in 2016. Jindal is young enough to play for time when it comes to potentially running for the big show. I think it's going to take at least 8 years for the GOP to sort itself out and bring something palatable to the electorate. Even if McCain gets elected, it'll be because of Obama mis-steps not necessarily because he's a dynamic kind of guy- and even if he does, I think the predictions that a McCain presidency would be the last death-rattle of 20th Century conservatism are probably true.

But watch out for Jindal in the future. And in the meantime, don't get cocky.