Is Election Season Over Yet?

It is SO aggravating to watch campaigns flail about for the last week before an election. And so little has changed since I was involved in managing campaigns 20 years ago. Candidates still resort to the Atwater/Carville playbook, trying to keep their opponents' voters home from the polls -- and that means negative ads run over and over and over again. About the only change from two decades ago is the extensive use of the internet to target likely voters and solicit support. How many email messages per day do you think I'm getting from "Rick Santorum" or "Laura Bush"? Way too many. Not effective. In fact, it's infuriating.

I will make my predictions for Pennsylvania's two big statewide elections while I'm at it. "Fast Eddie" Rendell will cruise to an easy victory (no big surprise -- PA switches from R to D in the governor's mansion every eight years like clockwork). And junior senator Rick Santorum will go down hard to Bobby Casey -- by at least 5%, a huge margin by state standards. I know Rick from way back, and I'd have no trouble saying to his face that he's run one crapass campaign.

And finally, while the Democrats will certainly retake the U.S. House, I hope my good friend (and R) Phil English gets to keep his congressional closet full of stuffed shirts and suspenders in DC.