Pipe dreams, wishful thinking, or?

Many people, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as newspersons, and even people on the street keep talking as if the coming elections are actually going to be competitive with Republicans having the possibility of winning (I guess winning here means maintaining their control of the House and Senate or both). Given the current circumstances can these be anything other than pipe dreams (you know, the kind of dreams that used to emanate from opium dens)?.

Consider the facts. Bush's current poll ratings stand somewhere around 33%. Cheney's are lower than a snake's belly. The current view of Congress is that they are even worse. We have a national debt so large it may never be paid off. Our middle class is disappearing. Iraq and Afghanistan are both total disasters with nothing but defeat for us even possible anymore. Republican scandals are so numerous you can hardly even count them. DeLay, Cunningham, Reed, Abramhoff, Frist, Hastert, Neyes, Burns, Libby, and on and on, all under investigations of one kind or another. And now the Foley problem. Consider also that we have managed to alienate virtually everyone on the planet with our arrogance, stupidity, and war crimes. A majority of Americans now realize that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice, et al, lied us into an unnecessary and immoral "war" and now have no idea how to get out of it, our intelligence agencies agree that the "war" in Iraq is actually creating more terrorists than ever (Bush claims they are naive), and in general things are worse than they have probably ever been, Bush is considered by most historians to be the worst president ever, and what in the hell else could be or go wrong? In spite of this some Republicans and many others seem to think they have a chance to stay in power? If this is not a pipe dream perhaps it is merely wishful thinking? I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone under the current circumstances could believe the Republican party might succeed in their attempt to stay in power.

There is one other possibility for this continued belief in miracles. Perhaps Republicans know that the "fix" is in once again. There is no doubt in my mind that Bush knew such a fix was in for the 2004 elections. He said very matter-of-factly more than once, and with great confidence, "we are not going to lose." He knew. So does anyone know now that Republicans will prevail just as they have in the past - through dirty tricks, a complicit Supreme Court or whatever?

If Republicans (heaven forbid) should actually win this time around, in spite of their failed "wars," war crimes, scandals, incompetence, lying, greed, and whatever, what would we be able to think about it? Something will be more than merely "rotten in Denmark." It will be an evil stench that will mark the beginning of the end of America as we have known and loved it.