It’s been a week since we woke up to the results of the presidential election, and I have been letting the notion of a President Obama sink in for the past seven days before I commented. I know that there have been megabytes already posted by conservative/libertarian bloggers and pundits about what happened, why it happened, what will happen, and what we should do next. Here's the beginnings of my $0.02:
First, let’s face some facts.
Fact Number One - we lost. And quite honestly, we deserved to loose. We sent up the wrong people who tried to run on the wrong message. While honorable and selfless, John McCain is no Ronald Reagan or Newt Gingrich – and we needed both to win. Obama’s message was simply “Change.” As empty as that may turn out to be, it was powerful and positive. And our message was…. Anyone?… Anyone?… That’s right – it was basically, “not Obama.” We offered nothing really powerful or positive that folks could latch onto. And Americans love positive.
Fact Number Two – because we lost, Barack Obama will be our President. On 20 January he will be your President. He will be my President. We must be as gracious in defeat as we should be in victory - congratulate him on his win, recognize him as our leader, and pray he does well for our nation. It is the Office we respect. (If you have ever served in the military you understand what I am talking about. If you don’t, watch this.) When our country is threatened from abroad, we must practice what we preach (“Country First”) and be ready and willing to unite behind the President.
Fact Number Three – every leader needs a loyal opposition, and we need to be just that –as tenacious and as partisan as they will be, so must we be. We must define ourselves by a consistent message - one that is positive and unites people behind it - and we must find new leadership to carry this message. The GOP currently in Washington sold the Reagan Revolution for a pittance of perks and earmarks; they are our sorry past – not our future.
More on Fact Number Three, later. But for now, RSR extends it congratulations to Senator Obama and his family.
1 comment:
You'd think that Fact Number Two would be a given, but for some it isn't. Between the people who wanted to flee the country if Bush43 won, and the people who couldn't accept Bill Clinton as Commander in Chief, there's been a lot of "not my President" attitude in the past. And, unfortunately, it's happening again.
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