Election
The election has just been called for Obama, and I never did get around to doing that political post I wanted to do. The last few weeks have just exploded. The end of last week I was about as stressed and overloaded as I'd ever been. It's a little bit better now. My grandma is in her final hours and I've been taking some "death watch" (for lack of a better term) shifts. Given my weird schedule I felt particularly suited to the 3 am to 6 am shift, and I felt guilty about not doing more over the last few years as her health declined. So I did one shift sunday night/monday morning. And I'm doing another one tonight. As I said things are better, and I don't mind doing it, but it does mean that my time for venting my political views is limited. In any case I am going to repost this bit from Jonah Goldberg:
Look, I expect to be one of the most severe critics of the Obama administration and the Democrats generally in the years ahead (though I sincerely hope I won't find that necessary). But Obama ran a brilliant race and he should be congratulated for it. Moreover, during the debate over the financial crisis, Obama said that a president should be able to do more than one thing at a time. Well, I think we members of the loyal opposition should be able to make distinctions simultaneously. It is a wonderful thing to have the first African-American president. It is a wonderful thing that in a country where feelings are so intense that power can be transferred so peacefully. Let us hope that the Obama his most dedicated — and most sensible! — fans see turns out to be the real Obama. Let us hope that Obama succeeds and becomes a great president, for all the right reasons.
As for John McCain, he is an American hero and arguably the best candidate we could have fielded. I will in the days to come offer no small amount of criticism about his campaign. But where his campaign may have lacked qualities that would have helped it win, the candidate never lacked for honor and integrity. Thank you John McCain for your sacrifice, commitment, and honor.
God bless America, and may He guide Obama to be the best president possible.
Further Karl Rove, that arch-enemy of the left, just said of Obama's victory, that, "Every American should celebrate tonight". My contention would be that had McCain won, you would not have heard these sorts of things from the left, obviously there's no way to prove this, but if anyone can dig up anything from a liberal pundit where they talk about being gracious winners I would love to see it. In any case I digress.
I had not yet decided who to vote for this morning, though I had narrowed it down to Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin. As I was falling asleep last night I realized that I should look into who was the stronger proponent of Nuclear power. As it turns out they both are very strong proponents. I managed to find another article on a libertarian web-site that compared the two, and mentioned the fact that Baldwin is not as strong on free trade as Barr and had in fact some rather protectionist impulses (placing tariffs on foreign goods until their price equals the price to produce them locally). So I voted for Barr.
Anyway back to Obama. I like Obama. I have some good feelings about him. I think we disagree on a LOT of things, maybe even most things, but I agree that he is now the president and there's no sense considering what might have been. I'll close with some quotes from "The Economist"'s endorsement of Obama:
There is no getting around the fact that Mr Obama’s résumé is thin for the world’s biggest job. But the exceptionally assured way in which he has run his campaign is a considerable comfort. It is not just that he has more than held his own against Mr McCain in the debates. A man who started with no money and few supporters has out-thought, out-organised and outfought the two mightiest machines in American politics—the Clintons and the conservative right.
Of course, Mr Obama will make mistakes; but this is a man who listens, learns and manages well.
So Mr Obama in that respect is a gamble...[but] he has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency.
Ron Paul in 2012!!!
Look, I expect to be one of the most severe critics of the Obama administration and the Democrats generally in the years ahead (though I sincerely hope I won't find that necessary). But Obama ran a brilliant race and he should be congratulated for it. Moreover, during the debate over the financial crisis, Obama said that a president should be able to do more than one thing at a time. Well, I think we members of the loyal opposition should be able to make distinctions simultaneously. It is a wonderful thing to have the first African-American president. It is a wonderful thing that in a country where feelings are so intense that power can be transferred so peacefully. Let us hope that the Obama his most dedicated — and most sensible! — fans see turns out to be the real Obama. Let us hope that Obama succeeds and becomes a great president, for all the right reasons.
As for John McCain, he is an American hero and arguably the best candidate we could have fielded. I will in the days to come offer no small amount of criticism about his campaign. But where his campaign may have lacked qualities that would have helped it win, the candidate never lacked for honor and integrity. Thank you John McCain for your sacrifice, commitment, and honor.
God bless America, and may He guide Obama to be the best president possible.
Further Karl Rove, that arch-enemy of the left, just said of Obama's victory, that, "Every American should celebrate tonight". My contention would be that had McCain won, you would not have heard these sorts of things from the left, obviously there's no way to prove this, but if anyone can dig up anything from a liberal pundit where they talk about being gracious winners I would love to see it. In any case I digress.
I had not yet decided who to vote for this morning, though I had narrowed it down to Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin. As I was falling asleep last night I realized that I should look into who was the stronger proponent of Nuclear power. As it turns out they both are very strong proponents. I managed to find another article on a libertarian web-site that compared the two, and mentioned the fact that Baldwin is not as strong on free trade as Barr and had in fact some rather protectionist impulses (placing tariffs on foreign goods until their price equals the price to produce them locally). So I voted for Barr.
Anyway back to Obama. I like Obama. I have some good feelings about him. I think we disagree on a LOT of things, maybe even most things, but I agree that he is now the president and there's no sense considering what might have been. I'll close with some quotes from "The Economist"'s endorsement of Obama:
There is no getting around the fact that Mr Obama’s résumé is thin for the world’s biggest job. But the exceptionally assured way in which he has run his campaign is a considerable comfort. It is not just that he has more than held his own against Mr McCain in the debates. A man who started with no money and few supporters has out-thought, out-organised and outfought the two mightiest machines in American politics—the Clintons and the conservative right.
Of course, Mr Obama will make mistakes; but this is a man who listens, learns and manages well.
So Mr Obama in that respect is a gamble...[but] he has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency.
Ron Paul in 2012!!!
posted by DireKobold at 9:01 PM
4 Comments:
Sorry to hear the news of your grandmother and wish much peace for all involved.
America needed Obama to be elected. We will just have to see how the rest of it goes, as with any president. Ironically he would likely have been the rare gracious Democratic loser.
What I wait and hope for is a McCain-Powell backbone to making the Independent Party a viable third alternative. I'm sorry but Ron Paul is a nut.
Seems unlikely that McCain and Powell will join forces since Powell endorses Obama. I mean I guess if Powell ends up regretting that as much as he regrets the Iraq war stuff he did it's possible.
I disagree with Ron Paul on some issues and I think the whole gold standard thing is pretty nutty, but he's the only one who I believe, deep in his heart, doesn't think that more government is the solution to all problems.
I will pray for your grandmother. My condolences.
I thought you might appreciate today's xkcd: http://xkcd.com/500/
As for politics: the Bush administration's reach into extended government will now be in the hands of Obama and a pretty good size Democratic majority. Big government is definitely here. FOCA and the Fairness Doctrine being among the first things to come in January and February.
I thought Powell had switched from Independent to Republican to "help the party". With his intentions unrealized, I would think it would be possible for him to return in the future.
McCain is centrist enough to switch, given enough reason. Being out of sync with enough of the Republican party could be a sufficient push.
Neither need to run for the hot seat but could give legitimacy to the Independent Party and pull in other contenders.
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