Texans 21, Bills 9

In the days leading up to the 2000 US Presidential election, the Buffalo Bills were well into the third season of a quarterback controversy which pitted Rob Johnson, the tall, NFL prototype Californian with the big arm, against Doug Flutie, the diminutive former Boston College and CFL star known for his leadership, intelligence and his ability to scramble and improvise. Bills fans were conflicted between the two, each of whom had enjoyed their own degree of success in the previous 2 seasons, as the Bills made the playoffs in both. It almost looked liked each of them was running for vice-president as fans carried signs featuring and incorporating all 4 names: Gore, Bush, Johnson and Flutie, confusingly and randomly mixed and matched .

This year, as the election looms, the state of US politics is about as depressing as the state of the Bills quarterbacking and most of the rest of the team. The "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision, which created essentially unlimited political spending by interest groups through Political Action Committees (PACs) and "Super PACs", has resulted in unprecedented spending on political advertising, mainly in about 7 key swing states. Thanks to the Electoral College state by state "winner take all" system, the campaigns and their Super PACs generally ignore states which consistently vote one way or the other and focus on the swing states. If you live in Sacramento, CA, Binghampton, NY or Austin, TX, you have been spared from most of the Super PAC TV ads but you will also have had virtually no chance to see either of the presidential candidates in your area. But, if you live in Cleveland, OH or Tampa, FL, you could have seen them on almost a daily basis for the past 2 months.

The list of endorsements for President Obama has grown in the past week and include The Economist, New York mayor Bloomberg and The Globe and Mail. Mitt Romney's math has been correctly called into question as has his party's position on social issues like abortion and same sex marriage. But as New York Times columnist David Brooks has been pointing out for months, the President's campaign has been sorely lacking in the presentation of a real vision for his second term. The Democrats have instead chosen to focus their entire campaign on attacking the Republicans. While the first term is always cut short by focusing on re-election, most 2 term presidents use their second term to think big and accomplish the key policy initiatives which will define their presidency and form their legacy. If Obama wins tomorrow, he may well be able to do that but it will require him to break the Congressional deadlock which has ground the legislative branch to a halt for the past 2 years, and move forward with some support from House Republicans. He has been unable to make any headway on this in his first term and the Republicans probably deserve most of the blame for that (especially the Tea Party members who pledged to never compromise with the Democrats). The responsibility, however, lies with the President to create the political momentum to move forward with bi-partisan support. This will be his biggest challenge and if he succeeds in getting the US Congress working the way it is designed to and the way it always has, that will define his presidency.