Op-Ed: Is Obama Popping The Champagne Corks Too Early?

CBS2 reported on the construction of a massive stage in Grant Park for Obama's Election Night Bash. If we can assume it is being built for a victory party, it begs the question: is Obama jumping the Election gun? And isn't it just plain bad luck to do so?

First, Irish bookies call the race over and are paying out ahead of time for bets placed on an Obama victory. Now this. From CBS2 in Chicago, via Drudge:

Construction is underway for a massive stage in Chicago where Barack Obama could declare victory on election night. Tens of thousands are expected to gather in Grant Park just 13 days from now. One way or another, that huge crowd will witness history.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that 1996 was actually the last election night when both major party candidates did speak publicly. In the close elections of 2000 and 2004, that did not happen. Preparations to accommodate a big crowd in Grant Park are already underway.

Mayor Daley has already made it clear the Obama campaign will be footing the bill, a point the campaign concedes.

"We are demanding payment guarantees from the Obama campaign up front," Heard said. "Taxpayers cannot be asked to pay for a political party. We will bill the Obama campaign for city services needed. We may apply for Homeland Security money to pay for police and fire costs."

So there you have it. The polls, the media and even Irish bookies are convinced of Obama's coming Inaugural Address in January, and are planning (and paying off) accordingly. And now it appears the Obama campaign is convinced as well. Why else would they invest so much on construction and security in Grant Park? Preparing for defeat? As I read this story, I couldn't help but think of the California Angels in Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series. WIth the Red Sox behind 3-1 in the series, 5-3 in the game and down two runs with two outs and one man on in the ninth, the cases of champagne were being cracked in the Angels dugout. Then Hendu blasted a two-run homer and tied the game. The Sox won that game in extra innings, and won the next two to clinch the ALCS and advance to the World Series against the New York Mets. I wonder if there are any Angels from that game who think they jinxed themselves with the premature bubbly. There are plenty outside Angel Stadium that still do. I am also reminded of the infamous Dewey Defeats Truman headline of the 1948 election. Ironically, that newspaper was the Chicago Tribune. In this DJ's humble opinion, there are few things most Americans detest more than people celebrating a victory they believe they're entitled to when it ain't even over yet. Not only does it reveal the perception of a hubris that needs striking down in the worst way (a reason most of the country rooted for the Giants over my Patriots in the Super Bowl last year), many believe it is a harbinger of bad luck on a purely superstitious level. You just don't do it. So will Obama win? Who knows? Only one poll matters, and that one ain't in yet. The Obama campaign also needs to understand the tortoise-like ability of John McCain to scurry past the sleeping hares. Hares, mind you, that slept because of their certainty of victory. Nobody picked McCain to emerge as the GOP candidate. Certainly not I. Yet there he is. As Obama builds his victory platform, he'd be well advised to keep this piece of Yankee wisdom in mind: It ain't over till it's over.