If McCain had won; how difficult would it be for a Republican to lead

HARD TO GOVERN: Ed Kilgore presents a pessimistic view of any Republican presidency within the next few years, highlighting the difficulties he (or, as it may very well be, she) will no doubt face.

Let’s say your party still controls the House of Representatives and has taken control of the Senate as well (under the presidency of your running-mate Marco Rubio) by one seat. Maybe the economy has even begun growing at a slightly faster rate and unemployment is down a bit, though neither improvement occurred fast enough to give Barack Obama a second term. Life looks good, right? Not necessarily. Given, among other things, the country’s highly polarized politics, the rise of the Tea Party, and your barely-there edge in public support over your predecessor, your fate as a Republican president doesn’t look too bright.

Indeed. It would be rather difficult.

AND IF MCCAIN HAD WON? Fred Branfman argues the Democrats be better off. Afraid to say it, but I'm inclined to agree on this one. Also, "Glenn Beck would have remained a crazed nonentity and been dropped far sooner by Fox News than he was." Nor, he points out, would there have been a Tea Party. He makes a good point, is all.