By this time next week, Charles Djou will know whether he bachi'd himself.

In remarks to The Hill, a newspaper that covers the D.C. high ground he hopes to soon occupy, the peppy City Council member opined, “;This election is pretty much over”;—10 days before mail-in ballots for the special election would be tallied.

If the local belief about karmic forces come into play, the fresh-faced Djou could find himself an also-ran in the delirious scramble for Neil Abercrombie's seat in Congress.

More likely, Djou has got the math right, matching the polls and the pundits who calculate that with two major Democrats in the race, the party's usual voter bloc will fracture, allowing the toothy Republican to go to the show in Washington.

The political whirl on the continent has been gyrating around what would ordinarily be an outlier election; all this flap over a mere 317,337 votes. What's spun our little island story into the big time isn't so much the actors on stage, but the players in the wings.

There's the “;symbolism”; angle of Hawaii being President Barack Obama's birth state (though that remains a mere claim if you ask the exasperatingly loopy birther contingent). If a Republican wins here, it will be interpreted as an embarrassment for Obama, a rejection of his leadership, a sip of the tea-party's piping hot brew and whatever notion Fox News can contrive.

Obama couldn't help but take note if Djou wins. Awkward? Sure. An added snag in the irrational tapestry that is the House membership? Maybe. But a crashing end to his presidency? Nah.

It is another player who has scripted the dramatics to an undesirable end—inadvertently or not—and who may have more to lose in the current scenario. Daniel K. Inouye has long been producer, director and the brightest star in island politics. Getting the senior senator on your resume usually means you get a role.

Ed Case's walk-on, however, has changed the dialogue and Inouye's inability to keep him on the same page has transformed stock performance into improv.

While Inouye's goals generally mesh with the national party's, he refused to bow to its desires on this one.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee saw Case as a stronger candidate than Inouye's choice, state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who helped him campaign for Hillary Clinton for the White House. Except for urging voters to choose a Democrat, the president, known for picking his battles pragmatically, stayed out of a fight.

Inouye has unquestionably earned his position in the party. Still, there comes a time when even the long-standing statesman needs to acknowledge that Hawaii isn't the place it was 60 years ago.

There are new and younger people who don't have the traditional ties, allegiances and outlooks. If his party is to thrive, Inouye has to embrace the diversity and find a way to fit them into an inclusive framework that will keep core principles intact.

If Djou wins, Democrats will get a do-over in November, but cannot expect different results if the program is the same.