Several reasons led to the success of Barack Obama over John McCain. Not the least of these reasons was that Obama simply was a marvelous campaigner. Part of what won over people was that Obama would say what people wanted to hear. Many thought he would represent "their" views.
Of course, eventually, Obama the President and Obama's administration must make choices. So far, appearances tend to demonstrate that Obama will not be nearly as far to the left as some feared.
Perhaps it is all a gigantic head fake. Maybe President-elect Obama is going to dash Left as soon as he utters the words “So help me God” next week. But so far, there seems to be the most astounding and sweeping repudiation of a president’s own base of support in the offing since … well, since forever.
Bill Kristol documents the “change” — otherwise known as “continuity” — President-elect Obama is preparing us for on a raft of Bush administration international policies. The difficult task of finding an alternative to Guantanamo is going to get careful consideration, Dick Cheney has wise counsel, and Israel policy will echo the Bush and Clinton eras. That’s President-elect Obama’s take, not some Republican’s, as expressed on ABC’s This Week.
Do I care if a Democrat president is in power - as long as most of how he governs is what I think is reasonable? Do I care if Republicans become the next dodo birds of the political world, as long as their policies run counter to what I think is wise and their candidates remain mediocre at best? The answer is that I believe certain philosophies are superior to others. If the guy in charge calls himself "Democrat" and does what seems best, and the guys who do not go out of business, then that is just fine by me.
Of course, whether it is to be, or not to be - that is the question!
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