The Election

Yankees · Post by **Yankees** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:15 pm

I hope, regardless of who we voted for, we can be proud of our country today.

We live in a cynical, cynical time - but it's moments like this that make me realize how remarkable our country is.

I hope the anger over John McCain's loss, and Barack Obama's win, can subside quickly, and we can back Obama as Americans for the next four years.

We are entering a historic and incredibly important period in our history - and I hope the gravity of that is not lost on anyone.

Royals · Post by **Royals** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:38 pm

John McCain was as gracious in defeat as any man could be. It reminded me of the John McCain of 2000 and I wish we had seen more of this gentleman through the election.

IBC Meetup in DC on January 20th? I'm gonna be there...

Nationals · Post by **Nationals** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:06 am

This is the Senatorial John McCain, not the Candidate John McCain. I like the former better.

Suetonius wrote of Galba: "He would have been an excellent emperor were he never emperor" (don't ask for the Latin...I don't have it offhand). I take Suetonius and apply it to McCain: "He would have been a fine candidate, were he never nominated."

Giants · Post by **Giants** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:39 am

This is an incredibly dangerous moment for our country for more reasons then have been discussed. Bill O'Reilly, who I very rarely agree with (really, you guys bring out the arch-conservative in me, I'm always pissing off my conservative by being too liberal), put it right on the spot. He said today that Obama is not a kook and he is a loyal American, the question is going to be whether he will let the kooks run the country or will he be strong enough to enforce his agenda. As for McCain the candidate vs. McCain the senator, I firmly believe that the McCain campaigned was co-opted by the Bush establishment and that McCain was not allowed to be himself over the course of the campaign. The party was dragged kicking and screaming into nominating the one guy who had a chance to win, and then did everything it could to ensure that win wouldn't happen. The risk now is that the arch-conservative wing says "OK, we tried to appeal to independents and they ignored us, so we're just going to go as far to the right as possible." That road leads to ruin, and puts us at risk of a one-party system.

That being said, congratulations to Senator Obama and all of his supporters. Hopefully we won't ever have to hear about how racist America is anymore.

Royals · Post by **Royals** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:07 am

I think Obama's ability to run a consistent and steady campaign speak to his ability to disregard the kooks and enforce his agenda. McCain's campaign being co-opted by the Bush/Rovians speaks ominously for what a McCain presidency might have been like. It's not a certainty, for either of them, that such management would carry over to the presidency but I think how a person handles their campaign says a lot about how they'll handle their presidency.

Is America racist? No. Are parts of America racist and are there still large groups of racists (of all races and creeds)? Certainly.