Prepare to be assimilated! The McCain/Palin craze that is "sweeping". the nation is becoming reminiscent of the Borg from Star Trek's Next Generation. These half-machine humanoids claim the minds and bodies of their conquered prey and add the victims to the Collective, a unified and controlled intelligence. The press and polls seem to be supporting the mission of Borg operatives McCain and Palin as their popularity and percentages are reported to grow with every campaign conquest. Are these beings unstoppable?

The Democrats have never encountered anything like the Borg before. When the McCain Borg assimilated Palin into the Collective, the Democrats responded with confidence that her weak credentials would in turn make her a weak Borg. But they underestimated the power of the Collective. Once assimilated, the Palin Borg unleashed her unexpected powers of persuasion and convinced her willing audiences that references to hockey moms and pitbulls were compelling arguments to join the Collective as well.

But the McCain/Palin Borg is only a distraction. The Collective boasts a leader who, though lacking the popularity of the Borg Republican team, is nonetheless the center of the Borg crusade in this country and abroad. Wisely, the Borg keep their leader under wraps, limiting his visibility at Borg assimilation events like the Republican National Convention. But with their commander's mind and policies firmly ensconced in the Collective, the Borg can continue to absorb unwitting citizens who think that McCain and Palin represent a change in the Borg supreme authority.

But are the Democrats truly feeling apprehensive about the Borg invasion as the media indicate? That message itself may be part of the Borg plan. If the Palin Borg continues to say she never supported the Bridge To Nowhere, the Borg believe that fantasy will become truth. If the McCain Borg repeatedly claims that his opponents will raise taxes, that pretension will become substance. However, those who have not been fully integrated into the Collective have the ability to withstand the Borg machine. The Borg count the repetition of misinformation among their most successful weapons. But awareness of the Borg scheme can help immunize the mind against this powerful strategy. Otherwise, when the Borg approach with their steely gaze and mechanical arms outstretched, be prepared. Resistance is futile!