The truth is, as Mick indicates, that November will be just the beginning.

Every step Barack takes will stir up more bullshit from the stoppers, the whingers, the NIMBYs, the nay-sayers, and the plain old merchants of nihilism and chaos who are so far gone in their psychosis they would strike out a Mother Teresa if she offered them water. There are plenty of nutballs out there, some of them dressed up in suits and ties, whose vision of the future is a deep, black hole into which they want to drag themselves and all the scenery.

And they will flaunt falsehoods, erratic half-baked distortions, mis-estimated upside-down importances, bass-ackward reasoning and false associations to do their worst, just as they have tried so far.

What has worked in this election so far is refusing to get restimulated, since they really have no other power; instead, staying clear, direct, coherent, articulate and well-reasoned, and continuing to communicate steadily and honestly.

Drives 'em nuts and makes them wave their arms and jump up and down.

This is just choosing the general. The battle, whether of ideas or something denser, still lies ahead. If we're lucky the commitment in this country to free exchange f thoughts in open dialogue will prevail.

If we are not, it could get uglier. Confusion rears up and blows hard when order starts to occur, and then, after repeated repetitions of order, dies down and drains away.

It is easy to mistake this process for an explosion and a failure of reason, but it is not--it is just the first line of reaction.

A