Obama has won, and all coaches say a win is a win. Congratulations to the Obama team. Once the euphoria settles I am sure they will realize that over 55 million Americans voted for the other guy and will lead accordingly. Looking at the results the race seems to have hinged on the much discussed swing states. The margin in those states appears to have been 1 million voters. Looking forward Obama will need to remember that a 500,000 swing in these voters would have changed the election.

That being said let me say that come January 20 Obama will be our president. As president he deserves our support and loyalty. He will have mine, I pray he will have yours as well

quote:

Originally posted by HazenWilliams:
Obama has won, and all coaches say a win is a win. Congratulations to the Obama team. Once the euphoria settles I am sure they will realize that over 55 million Americans voted for the other guy and will lead accordingly. Looking at the results the race seems to have hinged on the much discussed swing states. The margin in those states appears to have been 1 million voters. Looking forward Obama will need to remember that a 500,000 swing in these voters would have changed the election.

That being said let me say that come January 20 Obama will be our president. As president he deserves our support and loyalty. He will have mine, I pray he will have yours as well

That's very American of you. He has always had my support. I thought the speech MCcain gave after the results was very touching. Peace and luck to both sides.

Hazen, you are a Washington-insider gentleman & a scholar. It has been a pleasure learning from your wise commentary throughout this election season (& last year's BTW). Last nite John McCain gave a wonderful concession speech & showed why in another time he would've & should've made a fine President.

Both candidates agreed that America sought to send Foggy Bottom a mandate for change, & she did. The popular vote was relatively close; a 52-46 score is worthy of a classic Hatchets/Loogootee sectional barnburner. Let's honor The Maverick McCain & the Mandate for Change both by seeking compromise as well as creativity instead of the same old non-solutions brought year-after-year by the Bush/Clinton/Bush dynasty.

Congrats to Obama. Even though I disagreed with pretty much everything he stood for, I do hope something good can come out of this. I still am expecting all of our taxes to get raised. Clinton campaigned on cutting taxes his first time and if I'm not mistaken he raised taxes as soon as he took office and blamed it on the recession. Either way something has got to be done to help this country out.

I think most people will be pleasantly surprised at how well Obama will lead. His extreme intelligence & ambition will dictate his leadership & he will expect nothing less than perfection from himself & will govern with an eye to history & how he will be remembered. This will be good for all & I think he will keep a tight reign on Pelosi lest she squander what he has worked his whole life for with her partisan agenda.

JB, thanks for the complement. The feeling is mutual. This country works best when we can calmly discuss each side of every issue. Look forward to more of the same.

I'm sorry but I can't support the frontal abortion, the bankruptcy of industries (coal), sky rocketing utilities, homosexual marriages, the banning of handguns, military budget cuts, tax increases, government dictating my medical care and the other socialist ideas this person has.
I can't do anything about it but I certainly don't/won't condone it.

In another thread the ever-disgruntled Nurse Cat says any "point" about the heritage of brotherhood in Washington, Indiana, has been fully driven home by the Obamalection. Must say I agree.

Never in our wildest dreams two years ago could we've expected a candidate from our part of the country to break out of the pack & put a finis to both Bush/Clintonism & longstanding racial prejudice. Our national "habit" of pulling the lever for Whites-only candidates has officially been kicked. But the first accomplishment -- ending the endless & mindless Bush/Clinton/Bush reign -- was just as great as the second.

I agree w/ those who honestly harken back to the Ronald Reagan legacy. But we must admit Reagan did not stick his neck out & do what he promised regarding Federalism & Abortion. The government grew & continued to under the Bushes & Clinton.

It seems pretty clear President Obama will not attempt to shrink the federal government, but at least he won't pay that ideal empty lip service. We as Republicans must come up w/ a plausible plan for cutting the tentacles of the federal octopus. That includes downsizing the Defense Department, which may or may not be smiled upon by Obama.

Relying on the Constitution's persuasive words -- Provide for the Common Defense, Promote the General Welfare -- will help us Republicans argue for Security, not Adventurism, & General Welfare meaning Social Security & Health Care & a successful & sustainable Energy Policy, not Education & Housing & Corporate Welfare.

Those who object -- encrusted military types & bureaucrats & the persistent minority of lazy teachers who've allowed themselves to become loudmouthed paper-shufflers -- will be sent to Constitutional "re-education" camps. What we as Republicans must not do again is pretend a piety greater than the Pope's. Sadly, our Party habitually equated Pure Americanism w/ Whiteness. Condoleezza Rice's non-endorsement of McCain/Palin was telling. If we let Ms Palin lead us down a primrose path & tell us what "America" really means (as if an Alaskan knows better than us heartlanders), our Party's fortunes will continue to slide.

We're at the end of an era. Thank heavens the Bushes are gone for good (hear that, Jeb, & yer Venezuelan wife?). Ronald Reagan, RIP. Let's further perfect the Gipper's ideal of a city on a hill & match cuts in the bloated military establishment w/ cutbacks promised in lower taxes. Rolling back federal largesse in non-military areas will be tricky, but as Republicans acknowledge an end to Adventurism we'll gain the moral high ground to pursue progress in the social sphere.

As for Abortion, the A-word will likely continue its scarcity from Presidential discourse unless Republicans are willing to propose penalties for having or performing one. A health-care debate would be the perfect time to seek ground rules to better define/enforce Roe V Wade's trimestral provisions. My feeling is the GOP's traditional anti-Abortion stance would be exposed in such a debate as mere lip-service, for our Protestant-majority nation isn't prepared to penalize Abortion as the advanced Catholic societies in Latin America & the Islamic countries do. The only way to effectively ban Abortion is to encourage Latino Catholic immigration -- something the local Catholic Church doesn't seem enamored of -- &/or foster Islamic immigration to America. Both voting blocs -- Latino & Moslem -- are tipping heavily against the GOP. We can't survive w/out them & the tired old song-&-dance about Fidel Castro doesn't even enchant the Cuban expats anymore.

The other Great Step Forward Republicans could reasonably propose for the USA is rapprochement w/ Latin America. The USA cannot forever treat our neighbors like inferiors & expect no consequences at home. Further, our people are increasingly intertwined w/ Latin America socially & commercially. Simple Free Trade Agreements to set special agricultural interests in stone exacerbate rather than ameliorate Latino immigration StateSide.

As for immigration, it's clear that many if not most Latinos would return to their homelands if they could go back-&-forth legally, as we US citizens do. A New Good Neighbor policy toward security & investment should include an Open Door policy similar to that enjoyed by the European Union. I'll never forget the 2003-era shout that "We aren't Spain!" & thinking Gee Whiz, why can't we allow free movement of persons as European Spain does -- a country troubled w/ terrorism & separatist movements at least as grave as our own.

As we pull together, there's nothing wrong w/ Republicans yanking that cord a bit in the Right direction. If we stick to the same-old same-old, it's gonna be a long eight years.

"It is now time to pull together"

Just wondering if the starting poster would have begun this thread if Mr McCain had won?--

As was stated -- I do hope Obama, Nancy P, and Harry R remember this was NOT a landslide election. [but I'm MORE than sure they won't]

quote:

Originally posted by OBSERVER:
...this was NOT a landslide election...

Ahem, OBSERVER, old pal -- President-elect Obama beat challenger McCain by a better than 2-to-1 margin in the Electoral College, 364-174, thus qualifying 2008 as a LandSlide Victory for our young President-to-be.

Let's pull together & agree that at the very least our country voted overwhelmingly to give a Mandate for Change, since both McCain & Obama billed themselves as Change candidates.

Popular - NOT Electoral

quote:

Originally posted by OBSERVER:
Popular - NOT Electoral

I don't know anybody that thinks it was a mandate for Obama over McCain. That's why the dems are going to have to use restraint if they don't want to be replaced when the next election come along.

quote:

Originally posted by OBSERVER:
Popular - NOT Electoral

He won the popular by like 6% or about 7.5 million votes. That's about the biggest since Reagan vs. Mondale (not counting 1996 b/c of Perot effect). Reagan only beat Carter by 9.5 million in 1980 (granted by a greater percentage because of lower turnout).

Big electoral win + big popular win + party gaining seats in both houses of Congress = landslide.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. No Name:

quote:

Originally posted by OBSERVER:
Popular - NOT Electoral

I don't know anybody that thinks it was a mandate for Obama over McCain. That's why the dems are going to have to use restraint if they don't want to be replaced when the next election come along.

It was a mandate, but a mandate for reasonable change and not radical change. And as I've repeated many-a-time on here, there has never been any question that they were going to govern slightly left of center because, as you said, going too far left equals a loss in 2 & 4 years.