Life Goes On

After pondering for a little while longer, I wanted to share a few other thoughts with you.  We will finally -- FINALLY -- get to hear some good news about America, and the idea of supporting our President will no longer be considered a heresy (though I would guess it'll soon be a heresy to do the opposite).  Those things will be definite changes.  I suspect we'll suddenly start hearing some better news about the economy, too, even though that is still in a fragile state and one of the biggest challenges that the new President will face.  I am pleased at how the Right is generally letting go of all of the (legitimate) gripes we have and at least making an attempt at coming together for the benefit of the nation.  That, too, is a refreshing change from the last two elections, where we saw the Democrat party shout, scream, sue, moan, and accuse their way into the new term.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how much change we'll really get in many ways.  For example, we're already seeing crackpot calls for Bush-Cheney to resign immediately.  What idiots.  I suspect Bush and Cheney will be rhetorical whipping boys for quite some time, as Obama will likely use them to roll back some of his campaign promises.  How long do you think it'll be until we hear something like this:

"I know I promised that tax cut, but gee whiz, when we got in here and saw what a mess Bush made of things, we really just can't make it happen."  Clinton did it.  I'd be shocked if Obama doesn't do it, too.

Not long, I'll wager.  I guess I just hope that the change we get is the right kind of change. 

I think the overriding thought in my mind today is: be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.  The American people wished for a giant caretaker, and they have gotten it.  This seems to have been an election where people so desperately wanted a change, any change, that they were willing to hop out of the frying pan even if it meant falling into the fire.  Just how badly we get burned remains to be seen.  I would love to be wrong about this, but only time will tell.

On the international scene: should it concern us that Hamas celebrated Obama's win by violating their truce with Israel and firing dozens of rockets at their sworn enemy?  It's ironic, then, that Obama received 77% of the Jewish vote.  Something to keep in mind, along with the celebration of all the countries that hate America and have sworn to see its destruction.  Also of concern is the fact that Russia has now announced they will deploy addtional missile systems to the EU border.  Obama's first international test is coming quickly, and it is in all of our best interest to hope and pray that he handles it well.

Here's a big lesson learned: conservatism wins every time it's tried.  Look at what got Obama into the White House.  Though his track record is one of radical Leftism, he successfully hid that track record in the rhetoric of the right-center.  He talked about tax cuts, returning responsibility to individuals, and protecting America (for the record, the methods he wants to use are completely bass-ackwards wrong, but that's another debate).  These things are all fundamentally conservative in nature, and that's why people are attracted to them.  With the media hiding his background and record, he was able to pull it off.  I hope the Republican party gets this through their collective thick skulls, or they will be forever doomed to a minority party.  Their never-ending compromise and failure to stand firm have killed them in the past two elections, and we are now stuck with the results of those failures.  While the messengers are flawed, the message is not.

Obama's rhetoric was great, but his record is downright scary.  We should know shortly how he plans to govern.  Will we get the Obama of rhetoric, with a more central-leaning, moderate tone, or will we get the Obama of record, with a far-Left, radical agenda?  The line he and his Congress will have to walk is the reality of the political pendulum - if one party pushes too far in one direction, there will inevitably be a return swing to the other side.  We on the Right will seek to hold him (and Congress) accountable to the principles we believe to be the American way, and get that pendulum moving back to our direction as soon as possible.

So where do we go from here?  I like this:

It's kind of like being diagnosed with testicular cancer.  You hope to live through the treatment, but you don't look forward to what you're about to lose.

It always helps to keep a sense of humor, doesn't it?  If nothing else, at least this way-too-long election process is FINALLY OVER!!!

Life goes on!

There's my two cents.