General-election season is upon us, and Obama-Romney doesn't look like it's going to be one of those fun, inspirational presidential contests.

Reuters

Now that the Republican primary is just about over, political junkies cast their eyes ahead to the next seven months, and in many cases, their anticipation is tinged with dread.

Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, we're pretty sure, is not going to be one of those fun elections -- a gleeful free-for-all infused with a sense of passion and possibility. Rather, it's going to be a life-sucking slog -- a mirthless, grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity.

As you look forward to Nov. 6, the essential characteristics and contours of the campaign you can expect along the way are already clear. It will be:

* Expensive: Between two candidates with major blue-chip donor bases, two healthy, determined political parties behind them and a universe of super PACs and other outside groups unleashed by a new campaign-finance landscape, no expense will be spared over the course of this campaign. Through the end of February, the Obama campaign had raised $157 million, while Romney's had raised $74 million. The Democratic Party has another $82 million in cash on hand, the GOP $90 million. Over the course of the campaign, Romney hopes to raise $600 million, Obama $750 million or more, according to the New York Times. And then there are the super PACs: They've already spent $86 million thus far, mostly on the Republican primary, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. These are nearly unfathomable amounts of money -- enough to buy a whole fleet of $60 million fighter jets, or dwarf the GDP of a small nation like Tonga ($816 million). The $12 million Mitt Romney spent on his house in California looks like pocket change by comparison.