vailian

From the BBC website this morning:
"Barack Obama raised $25.8m, all but $1m in primary donations, which analysts say is a tremendous achievement for a political novice.

He spent $6.6m in the first quarter."

Interesting stats. this shows that Obama has tremendous pulling power even without the usual establishment backers.
"Figures showed Democrat candidates as a group raised $8 for every $5 by Republicans."
this is an indication of how the Republicans (normally easily the biggest fundraisers) are slipping. Bush may in the end be remembered as the President who destroyed the Republican Party.
The Republicans could go down because they supported the President actively when he began his questionable activities in the Middle East— they supported him actively when they suspected he was wrong— and (most importantly) they continued to support him when there was no longer any doubt that he was off his head.
I would make a parallel with Nazi Germany: it is one thing to support a leader when you think he is right, but quite another to continue proclaiming his messianic character when all the evidence is unanimous, and you know in your heart he is dead wrong.
Without being political, I think most Americans do not realise the extent to which GW Bush has damaged American integrity in the world. And do not see how this could in the long run result in serious economic consequences for the US. Without painting some kind of doomsday scenario, I wonder what would happen if the OPEC organisation (dominated as they are by Islamic and anti-American countries) were to make a simple change in their accounting and take payment for oil only in Euros?