And So It Begins...

I had to wait several days to write about the election results. To say that I'm dissappointed would be an understatement, but I'm not depressed. Most of us saw this one coming, and knew it would be a rough night for the GOP. That being said, I don't believe this to be a repudiation of conservatism for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Obama ran on plenty of conservative ideals. He promised tax cuts, albeit with a populist twist, and even tried to convince people he was "pro-life."

In fact, he succeeded in giving many believers, especially African Americans, an excuse to rationalize their support for him in spite of his horrific record on abortion. Many of them will outright refuse to admit to this day that he supports abortion. I realize that any black American is going to have a difficult time voting against Obama, despite the fact that he is considerably more liberal than most of them.

And while I ultimately think that Obama's presidency is going to be very bad for America from an economical and political standpoint, I also recognize that his election will be good for America. The election of the nation's first black president is historic, and encouraging for many reasons. While I worry about his policy positions and his character, I can still be inspired by how far our nation has come in the last 50 years or so. I can celebrate our nation getting beyond the racial barrier, while at the same time wishing our nation's first black president didn't have to be a socialist liberal.

I hate to admit it, but I did feel the slightest bit of pride, tempered with dread, the morning after the election. I sincerely hope that President-elect Obama will prove me wrong - for the sake of my nation and our children's futures, I really do hope that he will be a successful president. His record does not give me confidence, but I'll support him as president, unlike the idiots on the left have done for the past 8 years, because that's what grown-up Americans do.

My guess is that he'll be too busy handling the wars, economic crises, and potential threats from Russia (all of which will no doubt be blamed on evil republicans and Bush) to actually be able to enact many of his misguided plans - at least for the next few years. The real threat will be coming from congress, as I don't see too much chance of Obama using the veto pen against the idiocy Pelosi and Reid will no doubt be producing.

So, that's my final vent on the presidential election of 2008. We will have a new leader in a few months, and while I don't trust or particularly like him, I recognize that he has been put in this place for a reason. For that reason I will pray for him, and hope that he follows up on his promises for a "new era of change in Washington." If he actually does manage to "change" Washington through real bipartisanship, then I will give him full credit.

However, I will always judge his actions from the standpoint of conservatism, the last best hope for this nation. I'm predicting Jimmy Carter part deux...I hope I'm wrong.