Congrats to Senator Barack Obama, now President-Elect of the United States. Were his skin white and his name Bernie McGillicuddy, he’d never even get within a sniff of the White House. But he used his race to his advantage and played the race card well; now this country will get what it deserves. I fear what the Democrats will be able to do to this country with all three branches of government under their control.
But that’s the way it goes. Tomorrow the sun will come up, and another work day will begin. I’ll still have my faith, my job (at least for now), my family, my friends, my health, and my surf music. And I’m cool with that.
No doubt about it, the Republican brand is a HUGE loser tonight. My first thought is just how much the 2008 election serves as final verdict on how George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress managed this country during their combined years in power. What a wreckage! 2008 will be seen as the year all the chickens came home to roost, and now it’ll be years – perhaps a decade or more – before Republicans are given another shot at the nation’s car keys.
Watch for a significant backlash against the President by Republicans and conservatives of all stripes. You can argue one way or another about Iraq, but you can’t dismiss his inability to control federal spending and allow The Great 2008 Wall Street Meltdown to happen on his watch. His legacy is in tatters.
And mark my words: it’s not over yet – it will only get worse for the GOP in 2010 as the Dems consolidate their power further.
Glad I re-filed my party affiliation as Independent this year. It helps take a bit of the sting away.
Another big loser tonight is Hillary Clinton, who saw her chances to be the first woman President of the U.S. go down in flames. Eight years from now, the Clinton years will be a distant memory, and a new generation of politicians will have come along. Hillary may well become the next Ted Kennedy-esque “Lion(ess) of the Senate”, but she’s done when it comes to Presidential politics.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, while a winner to me and many conservatives, is also loser tonight. Whether fair or not (and in Palin’s case it is most certainly unfair, as if it were not for her, McCain would have lost in a veritable landslide), once a member of a losing ticket, it’s very hard to wipe off that stain.
I also think the mainstream dino-media is a loser tonight, for 2008 will be viewed as the year honest journalism died. The media conspired from the beginning to do whatever it could to put Obama in as President, deliberately abdicted its role in informing the American voting public about the real Barack Obama, and instead did everything they could to destroy Sarah Palin. They may well have achieved their goal in carrying Obama over the threshold and into the White House, but my prediction is that this will be a pyrrhic victory at best. And when it awakes from its love hangover slumber, methinks Mr. Obama is gonna find himself in for a very short honeymoon.
And, finally, the next loser comes tomorrow, when the stock market reacts to Obama’s victory and the promise of bigger givernment, more regulation, and increased taxes on the wealthy and investor classes. My guess is the Dow tanks 1000 points tomorrow on its way down to 7000 over the next few weeks. Watcha gonna do then, President Obama? Save us! Save us! From ourselves!
Sigh. I’m just glad the whole damned thing is over.
Isn’t interesting that 60% of the votes for Obama came from white voters and certain Republican states shifted to Democrat? Removing any party association, the significance is that US has taken a huge step to shed it’s mantle of bigotry and racism and the impact this could have on countries who have viewed this country as such for over 200 years. Just a possibility…no one’s crystal balls are working so clearly as to know what will happen…all one can do is either hope or speculate…depends on which feelings are fueling the outlook. I have always despised racism of any sort…my parents were subjected to prejudice and cruel remarks when we arrived in the US. My judgement is that the “human playing field” has been leveled. I felt the same energy last night as I did when JFK was elected…no one thought he’d be able to do it either. A Catholic/Democrat president??? Impossible. Everything is possible. My new mantra is “Thoughts become things…choose the good ones”. I am keeping good thoughts as this country moves into new territory.
Have a margarita, crank up the surf music and relax. I love ya!!!
Comment by Jana — November 5, 2008 @ 5:48 am
I think this is less about whether Obama is black or white, than it is about whether people want more government-provided safety in their lives due to the economic crisis caused by both parties in power.
We are becoming a nation of people yearning to be taken care of from cradle to grave, and Obama means that to many people who voted for him. Was there a racial component to this vote? Sure. Blacks voted in higher numbers this election, and as usual voted Democrat in higher percentage than for Republicans. Was their higher turnout due to a belief that bigger government is better, or because of the color of Obama’s skin? I do know this: when I listened to Gen. Colin Powell’s tortured explanation of why he was voting for Obama, I knew it was simply racial on his part. When you make the claim that you think McCain’s pick for VP was not qualified, when the Democrats pick for the top of the ticket has less qualifications to be President than she, you are endorsing for some other reason.
Mainly, though, we voted for a larger nanny-state on Tuesday. Because it is easier to have the government take from those who have and give to those who want, than for those who want to go out and earn it themselves – black, white, or any other color you might name.
Comment by Dave Richard — November 6, 2008 @ 5:26 am
Well I too hope for the best and am willingto say to President Obama – “hope and change”, but I hope you’ll leave a little change left for me in my wallet!
Dave might be right in saying people were voting for more government cover in these troubled economic times, but if it were, say, any other white Democratic candidate (with, perhaps, the exception of Hillary Clinton), McCain wins.
People voted for a charismatic black politician they knew nothing about. And worse, they didn’t care – they just bought his vapid message hook, line, and sinker and decided to roll the dice.
In some ways, I can’t blame them. McCain never gave people a chance to vote FOR something. People saw him as an able and aged legislator who enjoyed playing Washington politics. Any chance he might have had to win he blew the day he “suspended” his campaign to go to Washington to help push the bail-out bill through.
But you can’t tell me Mike Dukakis would have beaten John McCain in the end. Wouldn’t have come near him. And politically, there’s no difference between Obama and Dukakis. Race was the deciding factor in this election, no matter what anyone else tells you.
Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that – as far as I’m concerned, it’s as good a reason as any to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House once and for all.
Comment by The Great White Shank — November 6, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
Remember that Howie Carr once said: That if you wanted to depress the Central Artery (instead of paying $15 billion for the Big Dig), all you had to do was have Mike Dukakis talk to it.
Great stuff.
Comment by Dave Richard — November 6, 2008 @ 8:12 pm
In true politician fashion, I’m going to revise and extend my remarks and say that Howie Carr didn’t coin that phrase initially. It was the late, great Jerry Williams of WRKO fame who spoke so eloquently of Mike Dukakis.
Comment by Dave Richard — November 7, 2008 @ 5:25 am