The Consequences of an Election Litigation Battle

If the popular vote tends toward Obama but the electoral college tilts in McCain's favor the Obama campaign is likely going to mount a massive legal battle to charge election fraud. The tactic will ostensibly be to surf on a perceived public wave of support to try to win by judicial fiat. This could tie down the transition process and delay the actual result even longer than was the case in 2000.

If it comes down to litigation the structure around Obama will likely try to create public unrest as an alleged show of support for Obama. This bullying tactic has been used in countries with politicians that Obama view favorably, such as Odinga in Kenya and Chavez in Venezuela. If Obama wins in the wake of his support structure employing such bullying tactics he will see it as a victory through bullying. That would not bode well for the future and would require a new generation of Republican leaders to stand up even more forcefully against an Obama administration.

Sarah Palin has already been criticized and abandoned by some traditional Republican leaders. Under the aforementioned scenario she would be one of the natural leaders of the GOP in opposition. If the old Republican leaders are not willing to back her up, it would mean a significant weakening of the GOP's ability to launch an active, forceful and successful containment strategy vs. Obama. She has very strong support among Republican grassroots, but without the organizationals and financial backing from old Republican leaders it will take time to build a containment strategy. Such loss of time is not something America can afford, especially if Obama would win by judicial fiat.