They knew that we had just allowed an election to be stolen, the result of one of our three branches of government, the Supreme Court, being suborned, and that the Executive and Legislative branches were controlled by a group of cunning, avaricious types, motivated by greed of money and power and fueled by hypocrisy, ready to use hot button social issues such as abortion and gay marriage to cloak their efforts to pervert the system. They knew that we were a nation divided, having frittered away our moral advantages in debacles overseas and at home.

They knew that we have an attention span akin to a fruit fly, more enthralled by reality television than the majesty of our own constitution.

At the expense of a few dozen lives, cheapened by our marginalization of their culture in the Middle East by our blind alliance with dictatorships rivaling those of 1940’s Europe, They knew that They could strike fear into our populace and that our own leaders, especially those who had just assumed the illegitimate mantle conferred on Bush by one Supreme Court Justice’s vote, were receptive to being handed a ready made crisis, complete with the Un-Christian villains of the Muslim world.

Is it naïve to think that They were smart enough to know that we would not only voluntarily surrender our constitutional rights of privacy and due process and jury trial and even our right to have every vote count, but that we would go the extra mile and spend ourselves into bankruptcy in Iraq, alienate the rest of the world, borrow to the hilt from our natural economic rival China and continue to shovel money out to the very rich and corporate interests owned by foreigners while allowing an out-of-control insurance industry to rape the health care system and its consumers?

I think They knew us better than we knew ourselves.

Now, They are watching as the end game is played out. While we have squandered our grandchildren’s heritage, we have begun a series of stop gap maneuvers to “save” the economy, actually disabling ourselves from any real solution, while allowing the right wing fringe nuts to keep beating the anti-government drum, crying “socialism” any time anyone proposes that the people be given any real power. We are like many bankrupts who try to hold off their creditors by dribbling out payments, mortgaging the homestead and selling family heirlooms, until all advantage is lost.

In most countries, including this one before it became a country, the people who presided over such colossal failure would be imprisoned, at the least. We are going to escort Bush and Cheney out of office with handsome pensions, libraries and false history. Ninety-five percent of the congressmen who supported Bush-Cheney in selling this country out will be re-elected next month, either because They have no opponent or because They have so much dirty money that They can buy the election. They will then use their re-election as “proof” that the public supports their follies.

Meanwhile, They (bin Laden and crew) are chuckling to see what havoc They have wrought, at minimal cost.

We, on the other hand, will, when the next attack on our soil occurs, immediately go into another frenzy and cannibalize ourselves with even more vigor. How bad does it have to get for this to change? Will it take a Depression?

Are Americans capable of redemption? One election will not tell that tale. Ten elections may not be enough.

I know that John McCain is not the answer. I know that there are no answers to that part of the question this year other than Barack Obama.

I also know that if people act in concert, amazing things can be done, even against great odds and opposition. I know that if every Republican, at every level, who has opposition, were defeated, this election, even the Democrats who do not deserve to be re-elected would know that They should be in fear, great fear, and that change must occur. Americans do not have the luxury of picking and choosing. We must find a way to send a message to all institutions, at all levels.

Short of violent revolution, this is the only plausible, feasible way - vote all the rotten scoundrels out.