I agree. Utah is a lock.

Can you point me to any presidential candidate in our lifetimes (use mine, for maximum coverage) who didn't overpromise?

Some more than others, to be sure. I remember Carter doing so in '76, and W did so in 2000. A few days ago, I came across an e-mail from a friend from my youth. He was a rabid liberal in high school and he and I would go at it all the time. Sometime after his years at Cal, he took a huge right turn. A few days before the 2000 election I expressed serious misgivings about W, even though I ended up voting for him. My erstwhile friend sent me the following reassuring e-mail a few days before that election:

"I'll get back to you tomorrow, but hang in there with my man Dubya. He'll do just fine. Remember what a bonehead we former liberals all thought Reagan was, but by the time he ran for President he got my vote twice. Same with GeorgeW -- he is more conservative than his father, and is
only toning down his message because the press wants him to look like a fire-breather. Wait until he gets in with a Republican Congress -- let's see, a flat tax (or consumption), IRS restriction, school vouchers, prayer allowed at football games, three or four right-thinking justices on the Supreme Court, a rebuilt military (and get rid of all women, they're warriors godammit), etc. How's that for starters? We have never had this condition in our or our parents' lifetimes - Republican President and Congress. Please don't give up hope. We can do it." A prophet my friend was not.

On the other hand, I had to smile at a news report this morning that Obama has put together a team whose principal function is to lower expectations for his first term. Duh. Ironically, Sarah Palin would require no such team.

All candidates overpromise, sure. But though I'm not one for historical hyperbole, I can't think of a presidential candidate who had a thinner resume, who promised more.

And you're dangling a bit of a herring, having your friend put words in Bush's mouth. I don't recall Bush ever promising to get rid of women in the military, or pass a flat tax, maybe you can jog my memory with some real quotes. He did appoint two judicial conservatives to the bench, and the prosecution of the wars aside, I think he did more to rebuild the military than Clinton did to destroy it. Rumsfeld tried valiantly to make the military more lean and responsive than in its (then current) Cold War configuration.

But let's not make this about Bush (YET AGAIN) shall we? Do you disagree that Obamamoonies are exceptionally over-expectant, or not?

Of course they are, as supporters tend to be (see, e.g., my friend's comments).

BTW, though I realize this will provide no deterrent to you, I think the Limbaugh-esque plays on names that exUte, Snipe, and apparently you, find so endearing are both insipid and belie a lack of confidence. And yes, I feel very much the same way about lefties who do the same, and for that matter, the endless references by sports fans in the rivalry to Kryle, Donko, etc.

I read zingers like "Obamamoonies" and think, "man, this guy's got nothin'." You can offer some compelling arguments; don't blow it.

Sorry, bad question. Certainly some supporters of any candidate go over the top.

I simply believe this election has a disproportionate share, due in large part to Obama setting himself up as the Messiah.

What if it's not a set-up? Boy will you be sorry when you find yourself left behind.

the PacMan speaketh.

I am just asking a question. He said McCain will win. That's fine. He could be right. I am more interested in seeing how he got to his conclusion than I am in his conclusion. Nothing tightly wound about it.

Except it wasn't a conclusion. It was a joke.

I can see that happening. Still alot of undecideds - if Obama hasn't sealed the deal yet with them he never will. I think they go for McCain, IF they show up.

Also, polls always overstate for dems because of the young people. "Likely voters" who never show up to the polls.

I still think Obama wins, but at some level, I just can't accept that we'll actually vote in someone so liberal as him as President. There's gotta be a few republican leaning folks (like PAC?) who are Obama supporters that have a gut check in the booth that goes something like this: "okay, McC sucks and W screwed the pooch, and maybe it's time to give a democrat a shot, but do I really want someone as liberal and green as THIS democrat?" I think a few will switch.