The Next 4 Years

A couple my old old Facebook notes were just sitting over there collecting dust, so I thought I would post them here for all to see. This note (rant) was posted on 1/25/2009 just after the Obama inauguration. My current comments are highlighted in red text.

The past election and campaign cycle was disappointing to all conservatives. Not so much because we lost the White House (many of us believe we lost that 4-6 years ago). The disappointment is more related to how the campaigns and candidates were treated by the mainstream media. You did not need to search hard to find blatantly and obvious favoritism in the coverage. The mainstream media continues to support Obama by apologizing and covering for him when every he slips. It is simply despicable. They have lost their way and will soon fade to insignificance.

For example, consecutive news stories would be how Barrack motivated his base, bringing a feeling of hope and a desire for change. The next would be a comparison of McCain and Bush positions, and usually be biased against Bush. The message could not be more blatant: Obama, change, good. McCain, same, bad. But the bias did not stop there.

Which stories were reported and which were not was the mainstream media's most dastardly bias. How much did you hear about Reverend Wright, William Ayers, and other Obama friends of questionable character on CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC? You had to go to FOX or talk radio to get that story. Consider the media coverage of Sarah Palin. Remember when McCain selected Palin as his running mate. She charged up the conservative base.

The pick was pure genius. First, McCain effectively offered the voters another first. Instead of the first black president, he offered America the first women vice-president. Secondly, if Obama would even mention Palin’s thin experience he would be making the voters consider his even thinner experience. The fact remains that Palin has far more experience for the job of VP that Obama had for the job of president. That was good commentary (patting sound).

For a few days, this new energy pulled McCain ahead of Obama in the polls. That was actually quite a come back for McCain. But then the media began to knock her down. Charlie and Katie of ABC and CBS ambushed her and much was made about her answers, which were arguably poor. These same "journalists" never asked Obama similar questions. He simply got a media pass.

This next part is good original analysis. CNN and NBC spent more time reporting Tina Fey comedy bits of her doing a Palin impersonation (as Tina did quite well). Many in the public could never distinguish real Palin quotes from comic Fey jokes. Looking back, this was ingenious of a media that intended to get Obama elected. When the Republican ticket had momentum, they simply confused the public with innuendo.

How Obama Got Elected has all the evidence needed to understand how uninformed the majority of Obama voters were. The mainstream media should be ashamed of how they murdered journalism in 2008, but they are not. Instead, they continue to cover the current president as if he were the messiah. When will they first question an action of his?

So now America looks forward to at least 4 years of on the job training for an inexperienced commander in chief. We will survive. I am no longer as sure as I once was. Obama will leave his mark, but that mark will not include the most leftist of his campaign rhetoric. I was wrong. He has gone farther left that I thought he could get away with. No doubt because of help from the media. I know that the kook left will be disappointed as Obama ignores their special interests in favor of a more centrist administration. Most ideological presidents (right or left) move to the center to govern since that is the easiest position to be effective. The left will be livid.

If Obama moves to the middle, he may leave office with an approval rating in the Bush zip code. It doesn't matter anymore if the left supports him. His approval is headed for the toilet as wishy-washy conservatives and Independents leave him. The left will eat their own, and the right will never accept a man who was the most liberal senator in congress. Obama will move to the center, and he will leave a mark. So does a poke with a sharp stick. Consider his first executive orders. Closing Guantanamo is a move made only for political cover. Obama was anti-War, anti-torture and wants to establish talks with our enemies, so now he has done something to fulfill that campaign position.

But did it make sense? Noticeably absent from his order was direction on what to do with those currently incarcerated in Guantanamo. That will require decision making, something Obama has not yet done in his entire career. Still hasn't. He will soon be forced to decide and these decisions promise to be very unpopular. Consider that those held at Guantanamo are largely Islamic fundamentalist that will never place nice with the infidels. Only Islamic theocracies are willing to take these prisoners, so what should we do? Just release them go to join their flavor of Jihad? Lawmakers from around the country are already posturing for a fight to keep these dangerous prisoners from being incarcerate within their districts. Looks like he wants them at Leavenworth, just up the street from my house. Not smart.

Eventually Obama will be forced to do an unpopular thing and move the prisoners to American soil. Their neighbors like me will likely wish that Guantanamo remained open. There was not legitimate reason to close it.

Reestablishing government funding of abortion was quietly done during Obama’s first week in office. I doubt that if this was put to a pure up or down vote, a majority of Obama voters would support this. But now it is done. That is the consequence of voting for hope and change without knowing what is hoped for or in what direction we will change. Ultimately these too will be righted, but not for at least 4 years.

More accurate than your local weather on this next one.... The greatest danger of the Obama presidency will be the Supreme Court nominations he will no doubt make. Currently the court is slightly tilted to the conservative. With at least 2 justices on the verge of retirement, this balance will quickly reverse. This change will be the lasting damage of our collective mistake - the Obama election win. Courts can remain intact for generations. Liberal courts will bring us precedence’s such as Roe vs. Wade and will gleefully legislate that which cannot be passed by elected representatives. This will be the Obama legacy. Brilliance, I must say.