The Morning (Week) After

It appears that our next President will be Senator Barak Hussein Obama. I am not happy about this, but the people have spoken and on January 20 we will peacefully inaugurate a new President.

Senator McCain was his normal gracious self in conceding and I am heartened by the skill of a future candidate for the Presidency, Governor Sarah Palin.

The wonderful thing about our system is that we elect our officials for specific terms, not a lifetime. I am already starting to work toward the 2010 elections and I predict that a resurgence of sanity can occur if some of Obama's policies and responses to crises prove disappointing. It is NOT my wish that he or any leader fail, and I offer my prayers and good will that his moves toward the center are sincere. But Reagan's "trust and verify" applies to this most radical of candidates.

I am heartened by the victories for traditional marriage in spite of the palpably dishonest efforts of the California Attorney General and the ACLU national efforts.

How did this happen? Here are some insights on how our nation lurched to the left in this moment in time:

* The vacuum of leadership. In 1860, 1932, 1968, 1980 and 1992 the failure of the sitting President to lead well and communicate inspirationally swept the other party into the White House

* The economic crisis. I still believe some of our current situation was artificially manipulated; however, anxiety about family budgets propels change. The disturbing thing about this election is the willingness of so many to expect the government to bail them out of their own poor decisions. Even today we see the dictatorial powers of a Treasury Secretary beholden to financial and political interests.

* The stranglehold of the Left over most of the media. Even the Washington Post has reported the utter absence of objectivity. No one expects talk-show hosts to be unbiased; but CNN is no more than a shill for the Left and all sanity has departed from MSNBC and several other print and visual organs. By the way, watch out for the "Fairness Doctrine." It seem to only apply to radio. The fact that the Left cannot compete should not be a cause for a violation of the First Amendment. The most painful part of the next four years will be listening to the self-righteous inanities of Bill Moyers!

* The complete failure of the Republican Party to stay true to its basic principles and field candidates that inspire people. In California, the current party machinery is so broken that it needs complete reengineering.

* The effective campaign waged by Obama, including unprecedented amounts of cash (illegally) obtained from foreign sources, utter ruthlessness toward all opponents and a personal and political narrative that changes at a moment's notice. Obama is the first Information Age candidate and the combination of skillful manipulation and thirst for inspiration was compelling.

* The failure of religious communities to see that their dearest principles are violated by the Democratic Platform. I am stunned by the number of Evangelical Christians, Jews and Roman Catholics who voted for hope and change with no regard to Obama's radical positions of abortion, infanticide and forcible redistribution of resources.

* There is another, more subtle reason for the recent vote: The lack of a moral and spiritual "center" that anchors our public discourse. Just 50 years ago Democrats and Republicans argued vehemently offer certain policies. But they agreed on core issues: freedom, representative government, opportunity, patriotism and personal responsibility. For any sane change to occur, there must be an awakening from within, not a nanny-state imposed regime!

It is vital that values voters not despair - let's rest a few days and then hold the new Administration accountable from Day One!