No Time for a Honeymoon

The easy part is over. Barack Obama succeeded in transforming his mantra from "Yes We Can" into "Yes We Did." After an endless campaign, in one giant sigh of relief, Americans made history. Yes, that sense of emptiness you're feeling is called election withdrawal. Now comes the hard part.

Let's set aside Obama's campaign promises for a while. For now, there are crises that need to be dealt with. Facing him is a plethora of issues threatening America and the world. Some of these are of such magnitude that any one of them could wholly consume a president's time. His is a job I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies.

At the top of Obama's agenda is the financial crisis. His current plan focuses on helping those worst affected: the middle-class. This is laudable. It remains uncertain however whether the President and Congress can have much impact on the inherent structural problems in the global financial system. If there's money to be made, even imaginary money, can regulation really constrain the bloodlust of CEOs and speculators? After all, new laws mean new loopholes.

Then there's Iraq. In a New York Times op-ed piece published in July 2008, Obama wrote that on his first day in office, he would order the military to end the war. This goal would be accomplished by steadily withdrawing all combat troops within 16 months. With all the news generated by the economy, it's easy to forget that Obama's campaign was launched on the basis of his opposition to the war. His final decision regarding this issue is crucial, as it will be the litmus test that proves whether he can keep his word or not. Ending the Iraq War will save the United States vast amounts of money, build credibility abroad and save thousands of Iraqis from a terrible fate.

Once these current crises have been tempered, the President-elect will need to tackle climate change. Reconciling the scientific community with a once-hostile White House must be his first step. Obama's ambitious energy plan targets both America's growing carbon dioxide emissions and its energy shortage, but will also reform a lax culture of conservation, which is just as crucial. His solution is to invest heavily into green infrastructure and renewable sources of energy. Dubbed the Apollo Program's modern equivalent, the plan's goals are nothing less than slashing carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 and eliminating America's dependence on Middle East oil in 10 short years.

To make matters worse, underwriting all these huge policy initiatives is a wounded, angry Republican party. Though thoroughly trounced in last week's election, the GOP is going to make sure they throw every obstacle into President Obama's path.

This column has thus far been a downer and admittedly so; it hasn't even mentioned America's failing health care system, its aging population, immigration policy, education, the budget deficit, Iran or Afghanistan. Then again, aren't these challenges the very reason so many millions backed Obama in the first place? Americans asked for leadership, vision, integrity, courage and yes, hope. "Yes we can" Barack Obama. The question now is "Can you too?"


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Why George W Bush Might Go to Heaven

"Barack Obama! Change! Wooooo!" A recent episode of South Park featured Randy, Stan Marsh's irrepressible dad, celebrating Barack Obama's electoral victory by drinking himself into a stupor. The episode highlighted a certain trend lately of people blindly supporting the first black President. The flip-side to this, of course, is a massive chorus of scorn for the still-current president George W. Bush. The most commonly used slur against W is that he's dumb.

Dumb? Please. The man has an MBA from Harvard and a bachelor's degree from Yale. Call him a failure, misguided, a son of privilege or even a puppet, but 'dumb' isn't a term you can use for a guy who got himself elected to the White House. Twice.
Take a look at the positive side (yes, there is a positive side) of W for a moment. If there's one good thing to be said about him, it's that he kept America safe from further terrorist attacks. Yes, the cost was heavy. To achieve this goal, he employed several dubious and often illegal means such as mass wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, torture and two bloody wars. Nevertheless, the end result was seven terror-free years of security.

Even Bush's harshest critics cannot discount his leadership in the battle against the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. After witnessing the tragic horrors that the virus has visited upon the region, he backed up his words with cash - this year alone, he authorized $39 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS, on top of the $15 billion he authorized in 2003. Because of American investments, nearly two million people today have access to anti-retroviral drugs and millions of orphans have received life-saving treatment and care. The United States is the leading donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is all W's doing.

On the timely issue of immigration, W went against the most fervent, xenophobic elements of the Republican Party and opposed the detention and deportation of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. Instead, he offered a path to citizenship and integration into society for undocumented workers. Though the bill was defeated in Congress, his stance on the issue saved the country from a potentially disastrous attempt to deport over twelve million people.

At the least, W returned basic dignity to the office of the President. Bill Clinton's philandering had besmirched the institution of the Presidency when W came to office in 2001. Many of us can recall the incessant jokes about interns and the President on late-night TV.

These days, while it's oh-so-hip to be an Obama-lovin,' W-hatin' leftist, in politics, there is always more to the issues than one-sided ideology. The awful truth is there had to be a George W Bush before there could be a Barack Obama. Don't mistake my position. From Iraq to the Patriot Act, climate change to Palestine, there's just no defending most of his decisions as President. My point is though you may never agree with George W. Bush, one day, you just might forgive him.

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President-Elect Barack Obama

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McCain concedes

McCain to concede around 11pm EST

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/4/185520/135/920/653021

It's 10:59 PM EST, FoxNews has it live on their channel that Obama has 297 electoral votes.

It's over.

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Powell on Obama

Colin Powell delivers his endorsement of Barack Obama with such eloquence, it almost makes up for the fact that he helped to start the war in Iraq. Almost. BONUS: He defends Islam too!!!



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By the way, Go Vote Today

Or I Will Beat You.


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Barack Media

You'd think with just three weeks to go till THE BIG DAY I'd have a lot more posts. Well, I'm a bastard. Anyway, I haven't been entirely silent; check out some unabashedly partisan and hit-baiting posts over on DailyKos:

http://turnquest.dailykos.com/

and look at this photo:



and watch this video:



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