The "left" is fighting for its life. So long as the Soviet Union existed, the American left (liberals) could claim they were the "bridge" between the socialist / "progressive" world and the conservative / capitalist / "reactionary" world. Unfortunately for the American left, the Soviet Empire imploded. There's nothing for the American left to bridge to. The liberals have to stand on their own merits which are precious few.

The rise of Islamic fascism was also a byproduct of the Soviet Union's implosion. We (the Americans) knew the Afghanistani Mujahideen were bad guys when we supported them in their war against Soviet occupation. The Mujahideen hated but tolerated us under the Islamic dictum: "My enemy's enemy is my friend". The Cold War was all about nuclear annihilation. That harsh truth compelled us to tolerate unsavory bed fellows in our struggle against the Soviets. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the western democracies became the remaining enemies of Islamic fascism.

Now we face the coincidence of decaying leftism with the rise of Islamic fascism. Add to this two other coincidents:

President Bush being elected in 2000 within a standard deviation (Statistical noise could have given the Presidency to Gore).

The decaying old news/infotainment media (largely controlled by the liberals) being challenged by the Internet which is controlled by no one.

These last two coincidences have largely defined the current election (without the Internet, the liberal media would have buried President Bush under a mountain of lies). The $64,000 question concerning the current election: Does the influence of the Internet cancel out the Left's dying struggle to hang on for 4 more years?

Gary