Tuesday, November 04, 2008
President Elect Barack Obama
"........ and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall
not perish from the earth.
--Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863
11:15 PM Eastern, Nov.4, 2008 Listening to John McCain concede victory to Barack Obama. How good it feels. I look back and think of the election of 2004 which resulted in G.W. Bush's second term and the dark period that followed. Barack Obama's victory -- by a good margin in popular votes -- knocked the stuffing out of many experts who pontificated about race and the "Bradley factor". Virginia, once the center of Confederacy, went for Obama! The last time it voted for Democrats was in 1964.
"Rock Around the Clock"
Dance, sing, shout from the roof tops, and whistle.
- Defeated: John McCain -- an once-principled man who paid the price for surrendering to hypocritical bigots of his party. And Sarah Palin -- favorite of sanctimonious flag wavers; the lipsticked pit bull who appealed to the rabid fringe.
- Among Republican members of Congress, one who lost was Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. She ran a particularly nasty campaign and received a comeuppance from voters.
Four years ago, after re-election of G.W. Bush, it felt as though Democrats would never be able to regain lost ground. But they have. They were helped by Bush and Cheney. Failure of the Bush administration's mean, deceitful, arrogant actions and policies, which completely disregarded beliefs and aspirations of all but conservative, right-wing Americans, made the voters lash back and reject the Republican Party's candidates. From foreign policy to the economy and domestic environmental protection, the Bushies had become like rampaging bulls. Now, it is time for them to pack their bags. Good riddance.
Democrats have reason to feel good and celebrate. However, members of Congress must not forget that we, the people, elected them. They must work for the common good. In their giddiness, if they sell themselves to special interest groups and begin to act like their predecessors then their time in the sun will be short-lived.
