# Realistic reaction if McCain wins EVERY state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 8, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995 "2008-10-08T14:38:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/1 "2008-10-08T14:38:11Z")
I’d like to ask you all what you think would happen if on November 4th, it appears as if McCain wins in EVERY state. (Please don’t post with “McCain would become President” as it’s obvious and not funny) ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/2 "2008-10-08T14:39:54Z")
Riots; definitely riots. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/3 "2008-10-08T14:41:53Z")
A large number of pundits throwing their hands in the air, and a scramble to explain why election-prediction models were all so horribly wrong. Plus you get tenure at the university of your choice for predicting it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/4 "2008-10-08T14:44:38Z")
How does one imagine a realistic reaction to an event that is both impossible and implausible. We can imagine any reaction from riots to apathetic acceptance to the launching of huge investigations into voter fraud in every “blue” or contested state, but the premise means that all speculations will be little more that fiction lacking verisimilitude. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/5 "2008-10-08T14:45:48Z")
The key phrase in the OP is “appears as if.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/6 "2008-10-08T14:46:29Z")
mixture of apathy, victory woops for some, confusion and demands for accountability for many, and rioting for many others. I’d personally be in the rioting group because something would clearly be fishy, and I’ve about had it with the incompotentance and sliminess. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/7 "2008-10-08T14:52:50Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > How does one imagine a realistic reaction to an event that is both impossible and implausible. What would people do if McCain dumped Governor Palin from his ticket, and announced Michelle Obama as his running mate? What would happen if Ted Kennedy went into the hospital for brain surgery to remove his tumor, and when the doctors opened up his skull, found a tiny green alien driving the Kennedy Simulacrum? How would people respond if Barack Obama were revealed to be a shemale? What would be the realistic reaction to George W. Bush suddenly turning into a good president? Oh, wait, we’re talking about _plausible_ scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/8 "2008-10-08T14:53:12Z")
Home Depot would sell out of pitchforks. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/9 "2008-10-08T14:53:48Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > How does one imagine a realistic reaction to an event that is both impossible and implausible. How is it impossible for that to happen? Sure it is 99.99999999999% improbable, but it’s not impossible. By the way, if you honestly believed it was “impossible”, you wouldn’t have followed it up with “implausible”. k thx bye. ---
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/10 "2008-10-08T14:53:55Z")
It would never happen. Even if there was a huge conspiracy to ensure that McCain won via election fraud, it would be entirely self-defeating to have him win in EVERY state, as the fraud would be painfully obvious. It would probably cause less rioting if Bush declared the elections were off that year and he was appointing McCain as his successor. If there was a conspiracy to defraud the voters, they would just make sure that McCain won in nearly every state where it was somewhat close, which would give him a landslide victory, and though it would raise questions, it would be at least somewhat plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/11 "2008-10-08T14:56:45Z")
> [@A\_shameful\_cracka](#): > > It would never happen. Even if there was a huge conspiracy to ensure that McCain won via election fraud, it would be entirely self-defeating to have him win in EVERY state, as the fraud would be painfully obvious. It would probably cause less rioting if Bush declared the elections were off that year and he was appointing McCain as his successor. If there was a conspiracy to defraud the voters, they would just make sure that McCain won in nearly every state where it was somewhat close, which would give him a landslide victory, and though it would raise questions, it would be at least somewhat plausible. Ah finally an answer! All the other morons tried answering “what would happen if X happened” not “Is it possible for X to happen”. You win! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/12 "2008-10-08T15:00:05Z")
> [@Punintentional](#): > > Ah finally an answer! > All the other morons tried answering “what would happen if X happened” not “Is it possible for X to happen”. > > You win! God dang it scroll up. I’m even invisible on the internet these days. Oy vay. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/13 "2008-10-08T15:01:43Z")
People would be disappointed in their shadowy overlords for making election night much less exciting, and they probably wouldn’t even[vote](http://www.theonion.com/content/video/diebold_accidentally_leaks). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/14 "2008-10-08T15:03:08Z")
> [@Punintentional](#): > > By the way, if you honestly believed it was “impossible”, you wouldn’t have followed it up with “implausible”. Nope. Impossible indicates its likelihood of occurring. Implausible indicates its believability. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/15 "2008-10-08T15:04:57Z")
McCain would become President and you’re right it certainly wouldn’t be funny. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/16 "2008-10-08T15:18:19Z")
During McCain’s victory speech, people would start to hear weird beeping, static and comments about traffic on the thruway. Then they’d realize they were dreaming, slap the snooze bar and go back to bed. If McCain had still won all 50 states when they woke up, I guess they’d wait to see if Obama was launching a military coup or if he was seeking support form the government of Canada, or just waiting for cyborgs from the future to show up. It’s kind of hard to ask for realistic reactions to an incredibly unrealistic scenario. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/17 "2008-10-08T15:19:07Z")
> [@Punintentional](#): > > All the other morons . . . . Directing personal insults at other posters is perrmitted only in [The BBQ Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=5) forum. Do not do this again. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/18 "2008-10-08T15:26:21Z")
> [@Punintentional](#): > > … it **appears as if** McCain wins in EVERY state. > > (Please don’t post with “McCain would become President” as it’s obvious and not funny) (My emphasis added.) Okay, first, Barack Obama would lose his bid for the Presidency. Second, Biden would lose the number 2 position. Almost certainly forever. Third, and I almost forgot, all other contenders and their veep choices would also lose. Not something that isn’t already fully expected, and not likely to be the focus of attention. Fourth, Obama would very likely run again for '12, barring a complete nation-wide chaos resulting from the riots. (Or nuclear war. Or Obama either not being alive or not being well enough to run. Et cetera, et cetera.) At least, _ **IT APPEARS AS IF…** _ And, finally, do you have a point in raising your question?! :dubious: - “Jack” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/19 "2008-10-08T15:30:16Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > How does one imagine a realistic reaction to an event that is both impossible and implausible. Tell that to McGovern. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995/20 "2008-10-08T15:31:43Z")
Well, it depends on the events leading up to this dramatic event. If the “October Surprise” was Youtube video of Obama patronizing pre-teen prostitutes in a Chicago high-rise, then I suppose something like that might happen. (Even then, I think there’s at least one set of electoral votes that he might win under the theory that somehow, McCain is worse). The only way this insane scenario happens is for equally insane events to precede it, in other words. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-reaction-if-mccain-wins-every-state/466995.md?page=2)