Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has beat the Democrats to the punch on this one.

Yesterday, McCain for President head honcho Rick Davis sent out an e-mail to the Faithful pushing a new set of McCain for President wares - the “eco-friendly” product line.  You can now purchase your “unstructured organic cotton canvas” hat or a tote bag, the description of which is: “5 ounce organic cotton, lightweight and affordable, is woven in the United States where each part of the process can be certified organic”.  Neither Sen. Clinton nor Sen. Obama have such featured items yet.  It is a heady day for Republicans, who have often been far behind the curve when it comes to 100% organic cotton onesies.

Less heady by far for the GOP was the surprising special election loss in Mississippi’s rock-ribbed Republican 1st Congressional District.  In the low-turnout special, Travis Childers, a “Democrat” whose policy positions actually make him more conservative than many New England Republicans, won a 54%-46% victory over Republican Greg Davis.  Fortuitously, the National Republican Congressional Committee is on the second floor of the RNC Building, so those jumping out the window this morning won’t have far to fall.

With this loss, and the continued jitters in some circles about the portent of a Barack Obama candidacy, some Republicans are already starting to eulogize the 2008 election season as a wipeout.  We finally discover who were those people that bought into that “permanent Republican majority” talk of not so long ago.  Add this all up, then pile on the “John McCain hates Global Warming” messaging from this week from Camp McCain and you quickly get the Old Guard looking for the exits. 

But while they are running away, cooler heads are starting to wonder if this year’s Republican primary voters had looked into their crystal ball and seen what was coming.  McCain’s big breaks with President Bush over global warming, Gitmo, and pork barrel spending may be just what the doctor ordered for Republicans in 2008.  Generic balloting is all doom-and-gloom for Republicans - if you haven’t heard “1994 in Reverse” yet, just wait a bit - but McCain is competitive in battleground states across the nation. 

So stop snickering - order your 70% bamboo, 30% organic cotton, biodegradable t-shirt now.