And there will be plenty of that. It’s no surprise that 82-year-old Clint Eastwood blurting stupid nothings to an empty chair was a not a big hit to the Republican party faithful. Speaking of faithful, what did all those white folks think of Eastwood channeling “Go f*** yourself” to the imaginary Romney. Couldn’t have been good.

Since the vapid Republican confab, Obama’s chances of winning the Nov. 6 election have been steadily rising, predicts Nate Silver of 538.com. I didn’t explain clearly enough in “Arizona Goes Purple” that Silver is an expert statistician. He digests all the polls and bases his predictions on probability.

Then there’s the powerful political adage: “Don’t change horses in midstream.” Incumbents usually win elections; political scientists know that. But there’s the poor economy with job creation not being as hefty in August as we had hoped.

Bill Clinton’s speech — the best political performance this year — presented the clearest argument for staying the course with President Obama.  He’s made progress. His opponents’ warped policies, which haven’t been fully explained or are always changing, would drive us into deeper economic trouble. The Republicans say they’ll make cuts to reduce the deficit, but won’t say what they’ll cut. It’s all a big mishmash of anything that will help rich folks accumulate bigger fortunes.

Republicans will spend billions of dollars to blanket the land with false advertising about Obama’s policies in the next two months. They will make voting more difficult for minorities who trend Democratic, with complicated new state ID laws. But I don’t believe their empty-chair politics will work.

The economy will not be the determining factor in this election. Obama  consistently scores higher on polls than Romney in “likability.” It’s more than likability. It’s authenticity and trust that will win the election for Obama.

On to the first presidential debate Oct. 3! I can’t wait.