Changing the game

If the Presidential race does come down to Obama versus McCain and Obama doesn’t do something really, unpardonably stupid, he will whip Saint John like a red-haired stepchild. If this trend holds, it ain’t even gonna be close.

As many as a tenth of the Texans voting in the Democratic contests could be Republicans, and overwhelmingly they favor Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, the polls show.

“I ran for Republican precinct chair. I went to the Republican state convention,” said one of them, Donald Rau of Austin, who has already voted in early balloting. “In this election, I voted for Barack Obama.”

[Snip]

A poll released this week by SurveyUSA of Verona, N.J., indicated that registered Republicans would make up 9 percent of Democratic primary voters next week. Michael Baselice, head of Baselice and Associates, a Texas polling firm, said that was in line with what his company was finding.

[Snip]

For whatever reason, Baselice said, the movement toward Obama should be a warning to Republicans.

“Look, if Texas is a problem for Republicans, then it’s a disaster for the rest of the country,” he said. [emphasis mine and Oh. Hell. Yeah.]

If Obama can build a base of support within the Republican Party similar to what Reagan did with Democrats, the prevailing political dynamic of the past twenty five odd years will be completely altered. That would be a very good thing.