American politics has munged the meaning of both Liberalism and Conservatism to parody or farce. However, even the slur of 'liberalism' defines a form of politics that is consistent for an argument within liberal democracy of the role of the individual and a state; Conservatism however now means pre-modernism, pre-enlightenment, and executive authoritarianism. American conservatism is no longer founded within the political philosophy of liberalism or republicanism.

The irony for American conservatives is that America is a very liberal nation and John McCain's politics are an argument within liberalism as to the role of the individual and state. He has been made a front-runner through the primaries, where average voters democratically, through varying state by state laws, choose the candidates that will run for the national executive. Yet the power-brokers in GOP and conservative politics see him as a traitor to conservatism.

This is a modern conservatism founded in hyper-nationalism (immigration and the enemy within), where religion and the state are fused, where the executive is the ultimate authority, and the state is unencumbered by individual or political rights. This is a pre-enlightenment and pre-modern view of the state.

Since the collapse of socialism as a viable political philosophy, the new challenger to liberalism and republicanism has become the American view of conservatism. This is mirrored in other parts of the world, such as the suffocating Islamic systems in the Middle East which is why conservative commentators like Dinesh D'Suiza find common ground with Juhayman al Uteybi and Osama Bin Laden.

The two US Presidential candidates are established and both have announced their Vice Presidential [VP] co-runners. Where once the VP was whoever came second in the electoral college, now it is an essential political positioning for any candidate. Obama used Joe Biden to plug any holes he had in his foreign policy legitimacy, while McCain chose a left of field candidate which no-one is really sure why.

Portrait of a Candidate from Time

Obama is leading in the polls and electoral college currently but much is up in the air. He is a more natural politician than McCain and a better rhetorician. Additionally his campaign has been more disciplined which in the day and age of gotcha journalism allows for fewer off-message sound bites to escape.

McCain is not the same man that ran in 2000. He lived to his maverick self but was beaten by the electoral sensitivities of Bush and Rove; who are very skilled at getting elected but absolutely woeful at governance.

The McCain campaign of 2008, once becoming the front-runner, is now preaching to the evangelical base and espousing a Jacksonian foreign policy populism.

I personally think there will be another electoral blood-letting in 2008 the same as their was in 2006 with Republicans in the house and senate toppling like dominoes. I expect Obama will win in an electoral-college landslide as well even though the polls don't point to it yet.

The counter-weight is that identity politics still count. Palin is being touted as 'one of us' by evangelical conservatives who weigh in more on character identity than resumes, competency or merit. It may be that identity to McCain's evangelical message, populist foreign policy, republican party identity and maybe even latent or passive racism against a black president will get McCain across the line.

I don't see it though. I expect the Republicans to lose the Senate as well and Obama to walk in as President. The Bush Administration; through bad governance, political abuse and sheer incompetence; has, in my opinion completely broken the republican brand for at least ten years.

We shall see.