The country wants a Democrat -- they're not sure they want this Democrat," says a Director of Quinnipiac Polling.

Amazing, isn't it? It's a can't-lose scenario for the Dems this election season. And like the Patriots heading into the Super Bowl, they have everything on their side.

1) Faltering Economy: Certainly not the "disaster" Obama claims, but not something the GOP can say is Reagan-esque either.

Except the polls, unlike the Pats double-digit point spread over the Giants going into the game, are telling an alarming story for Democrats...

The most recent Gallup poll shows the race in a statistical dead heat, with Obama holding a 45-44 lead over McCain. This despite three straight days of wall-to-wall coverage in Denver that borders on embarrassingly positive.

Conventions and VP picks usually mean big bounces, but Obama has not only received zero bounce, he's actually lost ground. Read the tea leaves: The more people hear about him and the party he represents, the worse it gets.

And as the general election gets into full gear after the conventions, Obama will need to show he's more than someone who can win American Idol or fill a stadium.

And guess what?

He won't have anything left to show. Truth is, he hasn't had momentum of any kind in months.

Americans are simply uncomfortable with someone constantly looking to put on a show. The speech at Invesco Field will come across the same way as the Berlin speech: All sizzle, no steak. People are really starting to get that.

Unemployment levels are still as low as they were during the Clinton "boom" while gas prices have become a poisonous issue for Obama because of his opposition to offshore drilling, something McCain advocates to help decrease our dependency on foreign oil. This fact is largely why a new Reuters/Zogby poll says McCain would be able to handle the economy better than Obama (49 percent to 40 percent). And if the economy is the #1 priority for voters in November, as Scooby would say, "Rut-Ro!".

So what is the Messiah's solution? Raising taxes on the rich, of course. But here's a news flash for anyone living in Hoboken: "Rich" means making more than $42,000 per year. That means 99.9 percent of you will pay higher taxes under an Obama administration if his past votes are any indication. Good times...

Two "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan: Not sure you heard, but Iraq is already, for all intents and purposes, won. Violence is at a four-year low, as are American combat deaths on a monthly basis (just five in July). The reason for conditions in Iraq being so favorable is the surge...something McCain has been advocating for years while Obama was staunchly against it when it was incorporated last year.

If Obama had his way and pulled U.S. troops before conditions were stable, Iraq would now make Darfur look like a country fair in terms of bloodletting and genocide. More ominously, it would be a huge psychological and physical victory (another country to plan and execute attacks from) for Islamic extremists.

Obama was against the war in the beginning when he was a state senator. Good for him for having such foresight. But without a Delorean, Doc Brown and 1.21 gigiwatts to travel back in time with, the question isn't if whether we could have avoided going to war but what we plan to do to end it. McCain had the right strategy in a post 9/11 world with the surge, while Obama couldn't have been any more misguided.
Iraq was supposed to be Obama's ace-in-the-hole. But like the economy, it has somehow become a negative.

As for Afghanistan, that's a wash in terms of it favoring either candidate since both support an increased presence there. But know this: The more the focus is on Iraq and Afghanistan, the worse it gets for any Democratic candidate.

Obama's main problem is that he simply has no second act. Hope in amongst itself is nice and can sound inspiring in speeches/sermons when promising to save the world (Most hilarious quote from an Obama speech: "This is the moment when the oceans rise began to slow and our planet began to heal") but hope on its own without specifics does not a President make.

So after you peel off the layer of hope, and after you peel Obama away from a teleprompter, you see that this guy is sorely lacking a Plan B. In fact, he's everything that people who hate Bush love to point out most: He can't speak without something being specifically written for him.

And guess what? When it's debate time and Obama doesn't have the stadium crowds and the fainting women and the media cheering his every word, he's going to show exactly who he is: An inexperienced, empty suit with no principles whatsoever.

What's stunning about McCain beating Obama this fall is that the old man isn't sexy, or terribly inspiring, or even well-liked within his own party. What he is, however, is that old, comfortable sweatshirt you throw on every night when getting home from work.

Unlike Obama, who despite hoards of media attention has yet to be defined, we already know who John McCain is: He's the guy who could have been released early from a five-year stay in a torture chamber after being shot down in 'Nam but chose to stay with his brothers in combat instead out of solidarity. He's the guy who has crossed party lines and defied everyone from Reagan to Bush 41 to Bush 43 again on major pieces of legislation. He's the guy who knows who our enemies are and how to confront them.

Obamaniacs will say that McCain is nothing more than a warmonger and a repeat of Bush foreign policy. While the warmonger part is patently stupid (you would think that spending a half decade almost being starved and beaten to death would make a man a bit more apprehensive of sending men to war, right?), the part about mirroring Bush's policies is fairly accurate.

Rut-Ro, you say? Well, I say this: Bush is like Colonel Jessep in "A Few Good Men". The final courtroom scene is a Top 10 in cinematic history (it even beats Pineapple Express), and when Jessup explains to Danny Caffee that "Deep down in places you don't want to talk about at parties...you WANT me on that wall. You NEED me on that wall..." he might as well be talking about the way many more people than the polls indicate feel about our current President.

Some may see W. as the anti-orator or even the anti-Christ, but history will view him more favorably than some would think because of his pro-activism and staunch principles when it comes to keeping us safe and combating terrorism.

And if McCain resembles Bush in that regard --though most won't admit they actually prefer Bush's foreign policy over any Democrat because it simply isn't cool to say at parties -- that is a quiet plus for McCain.

As for the economy, lower taxes (which actually create more tax revenue) and advocacy on matters such as offshore drilling to lower gas prices puts McCain on top of polls for a good reason. Note: Speculators control the price more than you think, not necessarily supply and demand, and offshore drilling passage in Congress would lower gas prices dramatically and almost instantly...guaranteed.

So what does Obama have left besides an ambiguous message of hope?

Increased attacks on McCain, of course.

...Which will only show that he isn't the guy to bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats to get the work of the country done...

McCain we already know. It's like a girl looking to hook-up at The Madison for a thrill and the same girl looking for a husband and a steady, long-term commitment at a gathering at an apartment.

The guy chosen for a one-night stand is a player, he's fun, and he puts a little fire up that dress (See: Obama). And then there's the quiet, steady, experienced older man who ready for a commitment, won't waver and will always treat her with respect and put best interests above his own (McCain).

We're all looking for the relationship, not the quick lay hoping things will work out, in this election.

That's why it's already over.

That's why John McCain will be your next President.