The polls for the 2008 Presidential race suggest a close contest (unless last week's economic crisis is the final "bump"). This gives rise to some unlikely but not impossible scenarios.

1. Will we again see one candidate win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote?

2. Is a premature "Dewey Wins!" type of declaration by a major media outlet in the cards?

3. Could there be an electoral tie?

4. If there is an electoral tie, does the Obama-Palin scenario described by the above scenario play out?

I've been thinking about the possibility of a tie for a few weeks now. However, I didn't think that the incoming Congress would be voting on it. I see now that it probably would. (I stress "probably" because I don't think there is a legal definition of "immediately" for this situation.) I think the new House will be even more heavily Democratic than this House, which lessens the chance of any Representative facing a tough decision, and negates the possibility of the election being decided in the new Senate, which, in any case, will also be more Democratic than the current one.

You are probably right about the makeup of the new House. The financial market crisis has been played better politically by the Democrats, but there are a lot of ticked off Americans who are ready to dump Congress right now. While Republicans have some valid arguments, the fact is this has happened on Bush's watch and folks will be less inclined to listen to even the best of Republican explanations.