Friday, November 7, 2008

Final Thoughts

Election Post Mortem:

-- I am very disappointed, more than I thought I would be. I have predicted an Obama victory for months now and did not even watch the coverage Tuesday night, other than looking in for a total of about three minutes to confirm the result. I had prepared myself for it, but the reality is I hate to lose.

-- I want to make clear that my vote for John McCain was not just a vote against Obama, nor was it a vote for “the lesser of two evils.” I enthusiastically voted for John McCain. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

-- Tons of folks, even McCain supporters, disagree with me here, but the brightest part of the election for me was Sarah Palin. The die was cast long ago for a Democratic victory that was only going to be derailed by a major screw-up by Obama (and with the media cheering him on, that was not going to happen), but Governor Palin brought a breath of fresh air to the Republican ticket and to the entire election. And I loved how it just infuriated the hell out of her detractors when she kept right on going as much as they tried to discredit her. As I stated in an earlier post, borrowing from Rudyard Kipling, she kept her head about her when all about her were losing theirs and, being lied about, did not deal in lies.

-- Geraldine Ferraro graciously recognized Governor Palin for what she was doing. Ms. Ferrarro, who ran as Walter Mondale’s running mate on the Democratic ticket in 1984 and is now a commentator on Fox News, made it clear from the outset that she was not a McCain-Palin supporter. She was, however, extremely gracious and enthusiastic about what Governor Palin represented and symbolized for women. Oh my, if only some of the others in her camp would copy her grace and good manners.

-- As I have stated before, I like Barack Obama. I think he and I could be friends. I will do my best to be supportive of him.

-- I am very concerned about a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President. I am concerned about the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court who will make law rather than interpret it. I am concerned about welfare being disguised as a tax cut. I am concerned about pulling out of Iraq prematurely and jeopardizing our own national security as a result. I am concerned about a president who appears to have had very poor judgment about some of his past associations.

-- I am concerned but I am not scared. I do not think it is right to incite fear in people. As I said, I am disappointed, but I am also hopeful. Unlike James Dobson, who somehow decided he is a prophet and wrote a ridiculously awful hypothetical letter about what life will be like in just four years, I have great optimism that we will continue to be just fine in this country. The people have spoken. Thank God we live in a place where we are allowed to have a voice. In two years we will have that chance again in Congressional elections. And in four years, if Obama has not lived up to all of his own hype, we can boot him right out.

-- My blogger friend Michael wrote a great piece a few weeks ago, a parody of sorts about a debate between the candidates in which Michael is the moderator. Here's what he said at the end:

In four years, your life may be slightly different due to which candidate gets elected. Either man may be able to shape laws and policies to impact your day-to-day existence. But those impacts pale in comparison to what you do to shape your life over the next four years.You hope for change? You hope for better days? You hope for enriched family life?Don't hope. Choose.

Thanks Michael. Truer words were never spoken.

And Congratulations, President-Elect Obama. My prayers are with you and your family.

10 comments:

Redlefty said...

You're welcome, Bob!

I really like your outlook and your spirit about the election. I hope to meet many more conservative-minded people just like you.

(But I'm in Texas, so I won't hold my breath)

:)

Kelly said...

With most everything you said here, Bob, you expressed my thoughts as well.

I don't think I was quite the Palin fan you were, but I still liked the woman and felt she was treated most unfairly all around. I'm sure we'll see more of her in the future. Thanks to the economy I'm not sure any other pick could have done him any better.

I've won elections and I've lost them. Sadly, I have to chalk this one up as a loss. Still, I love this country and I will support its leaders and pray for them.

Thanks for including the quote from Michael.

Hal Johnson said...

Classy post, Bob. Thank you.

Pam said...

Depends on what part of TX you're in, redlefty. Here in my neck of the woods ( Plano ) conservative is the name of the game.

I held my nose and voted Republican. I really wasn't 'for' McCain.

I find Obama interesting and wish him nothing but the best. If he can turn this country around and not veer off the left side of the chart, more power to him.

Bob Barbanes: said...

Good post, Bob.

But...

"I am concerned about pulling out of Iraq prematurely and jeopardizing our own national security as a result."

Oh? Wait. Hold on. I thought Dubya started this war because of WMD's...no wait, because Saddam Hussein was such a "bad guy." How did this "war" become one in which we're now "fighting terrorists?" Oh, and if that's not why we're there, why ARE we?

Seems to me - and evidently to many, many other Americans (a majority, in fact) - that we've merely become embroiled in a civil war that's been going on for centuries and that we will likely have absolutely no influence on if we stayed there for, oh, 100 years.

Just exactly which "terrorists" are we fighting over there? How does our presence in Iraq matter to our "national security?" I'm missing something here.

Let's not kid ourselves: The reasons we're in Iraq are many, and probably have more to do with oil and our perceived need for a military presence in the area, and probably have little to do with the boogieman of "national security." But it sounds good to say that.

That Colin Powell and Warren ("I'm not Jimmy) Buffett came out for Obama says more to me than all of McCain' chest-pounding machismo.

We need a leader who'll do more than just march us off to war after war. I think we've got that. At least, I hope we do. But like you said, if Obama is really horrible, four years from right now we'll choose someone else.

Bob said...

Bob B, I am not saying I think we ever should have gotten in the war in the first place or that I agree with how the Bush administration has handled it. What I'm saying is we are in it whether we like it or not and now that we are, we have to be extremely careful about how we exit. As I said, I do not believe in inciting fear a la James Dobson and those of his ilk; by the same token I believe we have to be realistic and be aware that we are being 'watched,' if you know what I mean, by those who don't exactly have our best interest at heart. Remember Biden said Obama would be tested this way early on. I had no problem with that statement b/c I think it's true (although I hope he is proven wrong, as I am sure he does).

Thanks for your comments.

quid said...

I don't know what to say, Bob. I hope you, your family, and the state of Arkansas are in better condition four years from now than you are today. I hope at least some part of it is due to an administration that has your collective interests at heart, and not the fortunes of its cronies.

quid

Bob said...

Me too, Quid. I am hoping for the best.

BTW I live in Tennessee.

quid said...

Pretty much a yankee mistake. Sigh. (And Tennessee!)

quid

Anonymous said...

I see both bob's point of view. It sucks to be in this situation where both sides have real concerns and the situation we're presently in doesn't reflect where we should be had we addressed them in a different way. I don't like the idea of being in the middle east indefinitely but at the same time I understand the threat of radical Islam is real. Let's hope for the best.