If Obama wins Tuesday’s election, cognitive dissonance among Republicans will reach epidemic proportions. James Fallows notes that most conservatives still expect Romney to win, despite growing evidence that Obama holds small but consistent leads in several key battleground states. A Romney loss may give rise to assorted conspiracy theories involving voter fraud that won’t die anytime soon. Such denialism among conservatives isn’t anything new and perhaps the tinfoil hat freakout will hasten the re-emergence of the nearly extinct Republican moderate. But I worry about another two years of hysteria-fueled obstructionism.
To be clear, an Obama victory isn’t assured. Probabilities are not guarantees and Wednesday morning could find me gnashinng my teeth. But Romney supporters would be well-advised to steel themselves for disappointment as well.
Obama had a chance to be great…, he turned out to be even less than common.