Bill Maher knows instinctively what disaster awaits Democrats on Tuesday’s Election Day as the poll shows an arrow pointing down for Big Blue, 

So, despite a few jokes at the top of the show, he spent most of Friday’s Real Time trying to figure out how things went so wrong for an administration that took office with the most votes in history and control of the legislative branch.

This week’s discussion featured New York Times senior political correspondent and author of Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, Maggie Haberman, and Washington Post columnist and CNN GPS host Fareed Zakaria, Fareed Zakaria.

None of the guests disagreed with Maher’s rather gloomy assessment of the Democratic outlook. 

Maher asked why the Supreme Court returning abortion to the states had so little impact on voter sentiment.  

Zakaria had a simple answer: “The biggest issue is the economy and inflation.”  He said people are as pessimistic as they were in the Great Recession of 2008 and noted that inflation is “more corrosive than people realize.”

Haberman pointed out that the White House’s embrace of the left is what sees them struggling. 

Maher agreed, noting that parents see children returning to school after being away and dealing with more social messages than education.  “People want education, not indoctrination.”

The discussion turned to Ukraine and how a change in legislative control could affect how the US handles that relationship. 

“It’s going to be a real issue if the Republicans take the House,” Haberman said.  “Not everyone wants to pull (funding) back.”

Zechariah painted it in worse terms.  “If Russia wins, we dismantle the post-World War II order.”  He added: “This should not be a partisan issue.” 

Finally, the discussion turned to immigration and open borders promoted by the Biden administration.  Maher said Latino voters don’t necessarily support Democrats as much as that party envisioned.

 Zakaria insisted “Americans don’t have problems with immigration in general.  I lived this life myself.  But they see a system that has collapsed, a breakdown of law and order, of rules.”  The result, he said, is that “people look at it and say the whole system is broken.”

Haberman noted that “Many Latino voters feel they have been taken away by the Democratic Party.”  That sentiment “is likely to play out on Tuesday.”

Maher’s “New Rules” editorial was even more disappointing.  He mourned the end of democracy on Tuesday.  He said no one is paying attention to the Jan. 6 congressional hearing or other matters of serious importance.  “No one can be convinced of anything anymore, anyway.”

What will follow is endless impeachment debates surrounding President Joe Biden, he predicted.  “This is a ‘can’t happen to us’ moment.  We just don’t feel it yet.” 

He concluded, “So I urge you to vote,” he said, adding that we should enjoy the time left for democracy.  It’s like the McRib, here for a while, then gone, he said.  “So enjoy it while you can.”

Earlier in the show, Maher spoke with Richard Reeves, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It.

Boys are struggling, they both agreed, and the education system is not geared to their needs.  This is why, as more women attend college, men have not been able to keep up.  This isn’t good news for women either, as their marriage prospects diminish if there are too many men consigning themselves to their mom’s basement without much prospect.