Stilly - "I suspect it is part of a larger plan."

Sure. It's the same larger plan as always. Ever since John Kennedy, if not before. The corporates and the military-industrial complex run both political parties. Whichever political party gets in, it does exactly what the corporates and military-industrial complex want...but in its own particular superficial style...and little changes.

It takes the public awhile to get heartily sick to death of the Republicans' outward political style (which is aggressive, warlike, mean, and ruthless)...it may take 4 years, it may take 8 years, it may even take 12 years...but eventually the general public loses faith in the bastards. That's fine by the corporates, because they own the Democratic Party lock stock and barrel too, so when it's clear that the public is ready and hungry for "change", a Democrat is brought forward who appears to fit the bill nicely, and the Republicans get kicked out of the White House.

Everybody celebrates!!! ;-) Well, not everybody, but the majority do....

Then the new administration does its smoke and mirrors bit, acting according to the superficial Democratic style (say nice things about poor people, minorities, and the environment...act like you desire peace...), but the style doesn't mean much, because when it comes to actually policy, what do you get?

Well, you get massive financial giveaways and favors to the rich corporates (bankers, health insurance industry, oil industry, military industries), you get expansion of the wars the last administration commenced upon meaning you get MORE WAR, you get more of the same old stuff packaged in a nice bunch of rhetoric which doesn't sound Republican at all...

And you get fierce partisan fighting between the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress (and YES, they really mean it, because they hate each other's guts)...and that helps maintain the public illusion that there really is a genuine political choice at the polls, because it keeps them in the partisan frenzy they've always been in which gets them absolutely nowhere.

Elect the Democrats and they will betray you once in power. Elect the Republicans and they will betray you once in power.

And there is, for all practical purposes, no one else out there to elect!!! (due to the controlling influence of entrenched interests which control funding and the media)

Now....given all that, who would I have voted for in 2008? Why, Obama and Biden, of course! ;-) I mean, hell, I wouldn't elect McCaine and Palin for anything. ;-)

But it was set up that way from the getgo. The Republicans were supposed to lose the last election, because it was time for "change".

Not real change, mind you. Just a superficial change of outer appearance. A new set of curtains on the White House. A new smiling face to rule Oz. But who sees the little man (men) behind the curtain?

I will add to that that I like Obama, personally speaking. He's a smart and gifted man. But I think I have a fairly good idea where his orders really come from, and I don't think there's a darned thing he can do about it, unless he wants his political career wrecked or terminated rather earlier than he would hope for.

As Rig said, "Somebody is pulling the strings, but they don't want the public to know who it is." It's somebody you don't get to vote for (or against) at all.