And that’s the end of that.

No, I don’t mean the election season (though good riddance), but the fall leaf season.

Up till now it’s been unseasonably mild, and most of the leaves still clung to the trees.

Today, after a warm dawn, the barometer dropped like a bowling ball, and rains and clouds rolled in on Harleys. At the center of the front was a nasty wind that lasted only long enough to strip the trees clean.

This weekend, raking. Except that it might rain again.

Since I did such a crackerjack job predicting the election, I’ll go right ahead and tell you what I think the Obama presidency will be like.

Franklin D. Roosevelt II.

Now it’s generally agreed, as I understand it, that Herbert Hoover kicked off the great depression by raising taxes and signing a tariff. Barack Obama wants to emulate him in that respect, so there’s a similarity there, too.

But Hoover never had a cult of personality (you have to actually have a personality, I think, to get a personality cult. Hoover was an Iowan, after all). Roosevelt (who managed to extend the Depression long beyond its natural life expectancy, according to Amity Shlaes in The Forgotten Man) became an object of veneration. There were posters of him all over the place, asking the public to support him by doing their part, recycling chewing gum wrappers, etc.

Obama will receive this kind of adulation all through his term in office, no matter how bad things get. Regardless of how he and his congressional allies vivisect the economy, the official story line in the media will be that President Obama is bravely fighting for YOU, against the insidious attacks of our national enemies.

And who will these enemies be?

First of all, the Bush administration, which will be blamed for everything as long as feasible.

Then, big business—those greedy capitalists who are stealing the people’s wealth (Raise their taxes!).

Then, talk radio—the Fifth Column that spreads lies and tries to sap the People’s Will (Bring back the Fairness Doctrine!).

And finally, the Religious Right (We believe in freedom of religion, but that applies only to genuine religious activities—which means meeting in churches or homes. As quietly as possible. Anyone trying to apply their religious values to political questions is attempting to mix church and state and must be stopped. Unless, of course, they’re liberals).

I expect to see the inspirational posters going up any day now.