Rush Limbaugh told Republicans in Texas and Ohio to cross over and vote for Hillary so as to keep the Democratic race as close and as bloody as possible. He might have gotten more than he wished for.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are now in a virtual tie, with Obama slightly ahead in popular support, and Hillary holding the edge with the Democratic establishment. Looking at the numbers and the remaining primaries, this situation is likely to persist, leading to a deadlocked convention with neither side giving up. So now there are two options:

Option 1 - In the end, "the system works". Both candidates enter the convention deadlocked, and bargaining starts. Electability against John McCain (who by then would have shown a lot more of his cards) becomes the overriding issue. The party bigwigs confer and reach a decision: candidate X has the better chance. After many speeches, meetings and compromises, the call is made to the delegates' duty to the Party, and the decisive vote is taken. The loser makes a dignified and tearful speech, and Democrats march on to battle.

Who is the winner in option 1? Maybe it does not matter, because there is Option 2.

Option 2 - It begins with a deadlocked convention. But this time the wise women and men do not prevail. Maybe there are not enough of them. Maybe (and this is the more likely) politics have gone beyond that stage. Maybe the candidates are still willing to compromise, but their bases are not. Intense speeches are made. A tsunami of e-mails rolls in. Acrimony mounts, chaos grows, time is running out, despair threatens to set in.

Then Al Gore comes to the podium. The situation is grave, he says. He mentions the looming threat of global warming, the senseless Bush wars, the people driven out of their homes and jobs. "We must unite, we must change, we cannot let the Republicans ruin the country. Democrats, rise up, do your duty!" As he speaks, the mood changes, ambition is stilled, quarrels are forgotten. Applause rises. Patriotic feelings run through the assembly. As Al Gore bows and leaves the podium a delegate stands and proposes he be voted the democratic candidate. The vote is taken, the motion passes. Light breaks out of the darkness, the delegates cheer. They have done their duty!

Applause and balloons, a few more speeches (of the triumphal endorsement variety) follow . Al returns to the podium, smiling and modest, and asks all Democrats to unite for the sake of the Cause. Gracefully he asks Barack to be the Vice-President. Barack accepts. Deafening cheers fill the convention hall. The Party platform is created in a few swift votes.

The Real Campaign begins.