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| Rob's Soapbox Archives | ||
December 15th, 2008 IS SANTA CLAUS BRINGING ME CHANGE I CAN BELIEVE IN? As the year winds down and we begin to countdown less than a month until President Elect Barack Obama becomes President Obama, there is definitely change in the air; and it is most delicious in smell. The thought of an Obama presidency scared the hell out me, based on his past associations, writings, and votes; not to mention his current alliances and his wife. Suddenly though, there are glimmering signs of that all-too-familiar necessity when it comes to Obama; HOPE. It may just be that Obama has decided to pursue a legacy rather ideology. It may just be that the man who is clearly well educated, yet constantly comes across as abjectly stupid, is in truth, far smarter than I thought. It may be that Obama recognizes his place in history will be defined not by the color of his skin but what he does with the opportunity he has been given over the next 4 or 8 years. It is suddenly possible that Obama actually wants to do what’s right for the country (and thus his place in history), not what emboldens and empowers what used to be his followers (this is where the tale begins to get tasty). It may even be some are beginning to say, that Obama always intended to appear as though he was a near Socialist, but never in his right mind intended to do anything but govern from the center. Don’t for a minute think that I have caught Obamamania. I haven’t. I still don’t like or trust the guy and I still can’t believe that this country put such an ill prepared dink in the White House at such a crucial time. Alas, it may be that Obama can’t believe it either and that’s why he’s suddenly become so, um, intelligent and pragmatic. Who knows? Don’t mistake my “HOPE” for confidence, delusion or gullibility. I am still fully prepared for the likelihood that Obama will, in an ode to Jimmy Carter, screw everything up by enacting far-left policies that will have devastating effects on the nation, the economy and the world. But at least there’s reason to HOPE that he won’t. Incidentally, never have I been more excited about the possibility of being wrong. Let’s just HOPE for a moment that the initial signs coming from the future president are for real. So far, he has appointed an almost exclusively centrist, experienced group of people to be part of his administration. Those of you who are terrified of Hillary Clinton need to acknowledge that while she may govern from the left, she is far from being a whack job. The Clintons have always been moderate, fairly hawkish Democrats who understand the world we live in. Other members of Obama’s team ranging from Jim Jones to Robert Gates are middle of the road, military-friendly, experienced pragmatists who, by the way, all supported the War in Iraq. Did you catch that? Obama’s team, including his Vice President, by the way, almost exclusively supported the war in Iraq and almost none of them ever revoked that support. Suddenly the anti-war kook left wing of America that got Obama elected is up-in-arms over his clear shift in foreign policy. Obama campaigned on getting the troops out of Iraq 16 months after he took office. Now he says the current agreement to leave at the end of 2011 is just fine with him. Imagine that. That’s gotta sting, doesn’t it Barbra Streisand? Oh by the way, I told you so. As Obama approached victory in November I made it clear that there was no way he was going to pull troops out of Iraq sooner than our military or the Iraqi government wanted us to. No president would allow that Vietnam-like defeat to be saddled on him, especially in a war that we have now clearly won. You can scream and holler all day long about whether or not invading Iraq was wise, but we have now won the war and pulling out requires time, planning, intelligence and patience. Obama has shown he will employ all of those things. Ouch! How’s that feel, Bruce Springsteen? Beyond that, Obama is calling for a surge of troops in Afghanistan. Son of a gun, Bill Maher, that’s just got to piss you off, even if you won’t admit it. Although that’s the funny thing; the far left nut jobs of America, usually prone to lying about their own feelings to protect their political ideology are incensed at Obama for his early indications that he has no intention (yet) of being an anti-military socialist. Last week, Obama made it clear that the windfall profits tax on oil companies and any tax increases before 2010 were off the table. Oh, gee, I am so sorry for your disappointment, Michael Moore. As Obama approached victory in November I also told you he would only have two choices once elected; pull a Carter and run America into the ground by doing what he said he would do, or pull a Clinton and run American from the center, pragmatically. Bill Clinton, much like the first George Bush, will go down in history as one of the most non-descript presidents ever. He didn’t screw things up too much and he didn’t accomplish very much either. No harm, no foul. Obama seems to be starting off in that direction. Alas, I must throw some cold water upon all of us. While Obama is beginning his journey down a moderate path, there is no reason to believe that he won’t veer off into an FDR style ditch. I am fully confident that, despite the cries and howls of the liberal weirdoes in this nation, that Obama has every intention of enacting his crazy ideas once he has garnered the confidence of the nation and calmed the economy. It’s just a bridge too far to imagine the man not engaging in class warfare and socialized government at some point. But for now, it’s the holidays and Santa Claus has arrived early; Santa has brought us all some HOPE this Christmas season that maybe, just maybe, America isn’t dead yet. Now that’s change I can believe in.
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