In a time when it is common knowledge that being a conservative means needing to consider running to the mountains of Canada for the next four years, starting next January when our new Democrat president takes his oath of office (that’s right, I said his), hope lies on the horizon.

While the last year of the Bush administration takes hold on a decent but slowing economy and a war effort that has taken up three-quarters of an eight-year reign – rather than the expected three-quarters of a year or so that it was supposed to take to unite Sunni and Shiite under one happy smiling sun of democracy – the Republicans are strangely united under a proven leader (not my first choice, but he’ll do) while the Democrats are, as Hillary Clinton told reporters in Cincinnati after a rally featuring some cliché blue-collar union workers, are “using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove’s play book.”

As it turns out, Barack Obama is a shifty little devil. Recently, Obama’s campaign has resorted to sending out mail ads, particularly ones smearing Clinton for her past support for NAFTA and her health care plan. And although many see Obama as the only unblemished, clean-fighting candidate, these sneak attack mailers may shed light on the fact that he can’t actually walk on water.

But rather than take the high road by focusing her attention and energy on what she plans to implement in office with at least two years of unfettered loyalty from a spineless Congress, Hillary Clinton used her press conference last week to directly confront the Illinois senator and talk smack, challenging Obama in a duel-style manner before their debate on Tuesday.

So it may not be a bad time to be a Republican, after all. Back in 2004, a president who wasn’t much less popular than he is right now somehow managed to win an election. Why? Because a certain senator from Massachusetts, along with the rest of his party, decided his campaign strategy would be to plaster imagery of the president’s shortcomings all over their TV commercials, presidential debates and speeches. Hell, even the nomination speech at the convention was full various statements which were a slight variation of “I’ll be a president who is not going to [fill in the blank].”

So while I have already made my prediction for the next president, I now come to you 95 percent sure that President Obama will rise to power rather than 100 percent. Because if this election is going to be like any other, there will be many non-extremist Democrats and moderate independents who will grow tired of the high-profile Clinton-Obama heavyweight bout and jump on the liberals-can-find-something-to-like-too John McCain bandwagon before you can say universal health insurance.

Unfortunately, this election has lately proven itself unlike any other, not just because of how the battle between race and sex has taken the forefront, but also because of the constant power struggle between leading top-tier candidates. The best thing for the Republicans was that they got their nomination out of the way early, pushing an almost unanimous vote for McCain. Democrats, on the other hand, will have to rely on who has more star power and an array of superdelegates who will make their presence heard come convention time.

Both scenarios show some promise (but not much). If a more-extreme Obama wins the nomination, this may push some of the slightly more-conservative Clinton supporters McCain’s way.

On the other hand, Hillary is a Clinton, which is all that needs to be said.

Of course this is only speculation, but at this point, it may be the only hope that conservatives – as well as those like me who take pleasure in watching the federal government go at odds with each other only to not accomplish anything, i.e. spend money – have at spelling victory in November.

– Andrew Gionnette is a senior in mechanical engineering from Chanhassen, Minn.