The US election nightmare scenario

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7626471.stm

The closer the election gets - and right now the polls have it very tight indeed - the greater the chance that a tie of 269 to 269 will occur.

There are dozens of ways for the College to tie, given the 51 moving parts: the 50 states (each state assigned a number of electoral votes equal to the total of its House and Senate delegation) and the District of Columbia, assigned three electoral votes by constitutional amendment.

Under the constitution, the election for president is thrown into the US House of Representatives, while the Senate picks the next vice-president (the Senate's presiding officer).

But while the Senate simply requires a majority of its 100 members to select the vice-president, the House must vote by states, with each state delegation having a single vote, and a majority of the states (at least 26 of 50) required to agree on the winner.

But the real punchline to the story is: What happens if the new House and Senate can't decide on the President and Vice-President?  That's the true nightmare scenario...

Next-in-line will be the Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

I, for one, am hoping for a tie in the electoral college. Actually, it would be wonderful if the House selected Obama and the Senate went with Palin just to be fair to both parties.  Somehow, I don't see Nancy getting a chance to be acting President but it is a scary thought.