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While John McCain played an excellent Solomon Grundy in America's two-year long episode of the Superfriends, we should all be thankful that the election is behind us. Now that we can tear our eyes away from Florida, Ohio, and the bizarre spectacle of the Mormon Church standing up for "traditional marriage," we're free to look within our own borders, where Minnesota's own version of the Empire will soon be dictating terms to our own Minneapolis Airports Commission. And sadly, there's no hero in sight to prevent the state from rolling over and wetting itself as Delta asks, "What would Lord Vader do?" and looks to alter its deal.

Northwest owed the MAC $245 million in bond debt and was free to pay that debt back over the next 20 years as long as certain levels of airline employment were maintained, the HQ remained in Eagan and MSP retained its status as an airline hub. But times change. According to several reports, the newly formed uber-airline has requested a chance to renegotiate the terms of that agreement. Despite some tough talk from negotiators, the company is all too likely to get whatever it wants given the state's record of putting out whenever its various prom dates threaten to call it an early night.

In all likelihood, the negotiators will bow and scrape before the yawning behemoth that our once quaint airline has become - kowtowing and offering humble obeisance in exchange for overpriced flights to Milwaukee and shitty $8 chicken salad. And it's a tragedy, since in reality, the state is in an oddly strong position despite the fact that Delta could pay the bond debt with pocket change.

Since the company doesn't want to kick off its life as a massive lumbering entity with a PR disaster, it's unlikely to buy off the airports commission. At least not without negotiating in something faintly resembling good faith. But there isn't all that much incentive for the state to cave on many points. Southwest will start operations at MSP early in '09, driving prices down and creating competition. And several studies in the past have shown that Northwest's near monopoly in our market has, in what comes as a surprise only to airline employees and those with severe head trauma, driven prices up and made flying perversely painful for Minnesotans.

So what should Minnesota demand of Delta in exchange for the chance to renegotiate terms of its deal? At the minimum, zero-sum job changes. That is, if Delta plans on relocating portions of operations to that humid corner of Hell known as Atlanta - where, as in South Florida, rap stars are forged between the gyrating hips of adult entertainers - an equivalent number of jobs should be added to Minnesota, whether in customer service, maintenance, or any number of other fields.

Other concessions should be included in any deal as well - everything from freeing up gates at the main terminal to try and entice Jet Blue into the market to paying in to a fund in order to help offset costs for upgrades and maintenance of infrastructure that benefits the airlines.

But since the exceedingly obsequious regulators and officials at the helm of negotiations have a tendency to present their finely toned rumps at the merest hint of airline discontent, it's all too likely Minnesota will be the Goose to Delta's Maverick - consigned to float lifelessly in cold Midwestern seas whilst the airline goes on to bang the hell out of Kelly McGillis.