The Republicrat Party is born

The Republicrat Party is taking shape.
It's candidate, John McCain, is even in the polls, but holds the whip hand. He has an ace up his sleeve
Signals are being sent, not for the first time.
The Republican Party and the Clinton Caucus of the Democratic Party are coming together. This isn't a marriage. It's a fling and has a limited purpose: defeat Barack Obama and lay the groundwork for 2012.
If it works, the outcome could be momentous and spectacular: Hillary Clinton vs. Sarah Palin.
At the moment, the Russian bear is again making mischief on America's doorstep. The bear lives near Alaska and is prowling in the arctic, in Cuba, and in Venezuela. The last time that happened a combat veteran of WWII, a seasoned man named John Kennedy, inhabited the White House. As a son of the U.S. ambassador to England, he had been tutored for the job for many years.
After a standoff for the ages, the United States prevailed.
Now, the Democratic candidate is Obama, about whom many questions have been raised.
His list of achievements is short, some say nonexistent. His background is murky. His friends and associates are controversial, to put in mildly. He stammers at public appearances.
The question arises: Is this the leader Americans want in a potential confrontation with Putin?
One thing is certain: Barack Obama is no John Kennedy.
Some of those who oppose him are Democrats. Earlier this year, they made common cause with Republicans in a campaign to make Hillary Clinton the party's nominee.
The alliance grew out of a preemptive maneuver by one of America's premier entertainers, Rush Limbaugh, oiperating out of what he calls "the Southern Command."
As Obama gained the upper hand in his contest with Clinton, Limbaugh launched Operation Chaos to keep Clinton competitive. He encouraged Republicans to reregister as Democrats and vote for Clinton in the primaries. Many did. Limbaugh reported their progress on his radio talk show, referring to the interlopers as his "troops."
Clinton finished with more than 18 million votes. An unknown number of those votes had been cast by Limbaugh's covert army.
Soon, the Clintons and the the Republican team of John McCain and Sarah Palin began sending signals back and forth. At the Republican convention, Palin saluted Clinton, saying she had put "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" that has kept the White House out of reach for women. Clinton promptly returned the salute, saying she would not attack Palin.
Now, the signals are becoming more audacious, to borrow Obamas's favorite word. Bill Clinton: "I'll campaign after the Jewish holidays." Was that the bird? Or am I too eager to see the bird?
The former president also described Palin as an "appealing person" and her family as "gutsy, spirited and real." He did not add, "unlike Obama," but he might have had the phrase in mind.
Clinton also said he won't attack McCain.
Polls show that about one-third of those who voted for Clinton in the primaries will not support Obama. Thet's 6 million voters who are up for grabs. The number might grow much higher.
Consider this scenario: One week before the election, McCain is still even or behind and in need of a surge. He plays the card that he has up his sleeve by saying,"If elected, I will serve one term."
Suddenly, the women of America would be within four years of a goal toward which some have worked all of their lives: a woman in the Oval Office.
That woman might be Palin. It also might be Clinton if she can prevail in another Democratic primary campaign.
The Clintons have an incentive to see Obama lose. If he loses, Clinton can run again in 2012. If he wins, she can run no earlier than 2016.
If McCain wins, he can gracefully step aside after one term, and thereby acquire a devoted bipartisan fan club made up of 150 million women. Historians would record that his selfless action made it possible for a woman - and possibly two - to run for president.
Moreover, the other 12 million voters who were part of the Clinton caucus in 2008 also would have a powerful incentive to vote for the McCain ticket this year. Chances to make historic breakthroughs of this magnitude don't come around that often.