Yes.

Has the Republican presidential nominee erased the Democratic president’s substantial lead?

Yes to that, too.

Has the GOP run a well-funded, focused campaign, one that has put the Democratic machine on the ropes?

Yes, yes, yes.

So, taking all of that into account — and the indisputable fact Romney and Obama are now effectively tied in national polls leading into Tuesday’s historic vote count — can Obama lose the election?

Acts of God are events that are beyond human control — like a big earthquake on the West coast, or a big hurricane on the East coast — and for which “no one can be held responsible,” assorted dictionaries tell us.

Except politicians, that is. Politicians, and aspiring politicians, know too well that the reverse is often true: When disaster strikes, politicians know that they can indeed be “held responsible.” If things go to hell in a handbasket — due to anything from a Hurricane Sandy to a Biblical plague of locusts — it can bring a swift end to a politician’s career.

Also…never mind. Atheists slay me. They are more, um, bedeviled by religion than are the religious. They spend way more time thinking about me than I do about them, for example.

Some things are ineffable, which makes them more wonderful. The ineffable things have no place in politics, however.

We’re going to have plenty of great candidates, and we’re going to win the next election. You can take that to the bank.