Seems like it’s bound to happen, doesn’t it?  That Barack Obama will become president.  He’s winning, isn’t he?  And McCain’s done.  He’s toast.  He’s swept off the board.  He’s irrelevant.  He’s old news.  He’s in danger of being described by too many cliches.

The polls seem to say it.  Tonight, Michael cited a Gallup poll stating Obama’s up by 11%.  He and regular reader Christine have their analyses on why they think McCain has lost.  And it seems like even some of the most ardent McCain supporters have owned up to “the inevitable.”  Most are unimpressed with McCain’s performace last night, for instance.

Yet, complacency should not be the name of the game now.  Obama/Biden should not get smug since the winds are blowing in their favor.  Nor should McCain/Palin get down because the odds don’t favor them.  And the public should remain open minded for the rest of this campaign season.  Make up your own minds.

Now I say all this because the narrative in the Democratic primary was often, “Clinton is done!”  or alternatively “Obama is done” whenever the other would take the lead.  For a while, it indeed seemed Obama had clinched the nomination.  Then Senator Clinton began winning states in a big way.  Yet, she never regained the lead in delegates.

But it was always a possibility up until a week or two before the final primary.  I always remained steadfast in my belief that the game shouldn’t be called before the scores were tallied. I believe this here in the general election as well, whatever the polls might say.

Polls can be wrong, after all.  They were wrong in 2004.  A lot can change in three weeks.  Yet, some things can tell us a lot about which way this thing is going.  You can see what I mean in my next article.