AND NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS - AT 8:25 P.M. ET:  Things aren't all bleak for our side.  A new Gallup poll confirms that Americans aren't jumping off the leftist deep end just yet.  In fact, it turns out that the left really isn't all that popular.

Conservatives, according to Gallup's research, are the largest single political belief group.  Some 40% of Americans describe themselves as conservatives, while only 21% call themselves liberals.  Some 35% label themselves moderates.  So the conservative/moderate bloc accounts for 75% of the country.

So how does that explain the election of Barack Obama, possibly the most liberal man ever made president?  Well, it doesn't.  But personal appeal and popularity count for a great deal in our system.  And Obama was able to convince millions of Americans that he really is a kind of active centrist.  He is not, but people believed it. 

The essential moderation in America is proved by the general unpopularity of Obama's policies, as contrasted with Mr. Obama's personal appeal.  And Obama is dragged down by a congressional party that sometimes makes the Mafia look elegant. 

So take heart.  The graveyards in Chicago can't provide that many votes.

June 15, 2009