The Conservative Bulwark

This is going to read as if two people contributed to the content, but nonetheless I wanted to get a few things off my chest.

First of all, I really can't put into words how extraordinarily proud I am of my country. Am I disappointed in the election? Absolutely. However, prior to last night's election there were many instances of race-baiting and fear-mongering regarding what may or may not happen should Obama lose. There were even some who believed that violence would erupt even if he won. Needless to say, I have heard of no incidents stemming from the post-election celebrations. Across the country, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to celebrate their candidate's historical win. There was no rioting...there was no vandalism, and there were no arrests to my knowledge. I never believed that America was a racist nation who just couldn't bring itself to vote for a black candidate. Now I hope that those who harbored those beliefs can drop them and move on. These facts speak to the greatness and heroism of this nation. There are many reasons why the United States is still that shining city on a hill...last night was one of them.

To Obama's credit he ran a great campaign. No matter what you thought of the message(s) he was hammering out, he stuck to them throughout. He's a good speaker, he's charasmatic, and he was fortunate enough to be running for President when the political stars were aligned in his favor. The current President is not popular. The current Congress is even less popular...but no matter how many Democrats or Republicans there are in the House and the Senate, the American public will forever equate bad things to the party of the sitting President. Of course it also didn't help that Republicans have shot themselves in the foot so often over the last few years...including John McCain.

For Conservatives it is paramount to not become what many became after Bush won his second term. Instead of wallowing in hatred of Barack Obama, we have to realize that if we're to succeed as a nation, he has to do well. When he screws up, it's going to have an impact on all of us. Wishing for those mistakes will solve nothing. I have been and always will be a firm believer that when conservative ideals, presented by true conservative candidates, are brought forth they will always prevail in the arena of ideas. The Republican Party has to take a long hard look at itself if it ever wishes to return to national prominence. The one thing glittering on this most recent political battlefield is that the U.S. is still a right of center nation. Obama, for the most part, campaigned on center and right of center issues after the primaries. When those ideals are once again cherished and held aloft, the balance of power will swing again.

Now does this mean I'm advocating just sitting back and accepting whatever comes from an Obama White House? Uh...NO. I can respect the man all day long, but I'm not going to hold back when he's making a mistake. While I respect what he did, the vast majority of his campaign policies scare the bejesus out of me. It will be very interesting to see how he tries to govern in his first 100 days. Will it be the guy that wants to 'spread the wealth' around and believes that when people want to keep money they earned, its selfish? Or will it be the guy who campaigned on a lot of centrist issues? Time will tell...