Avoid ODS

So the results are in, and it was a rout. This nation elected Senator Barack Obama to be the nations 44th President. While I disagreed with much of the now President-Elects policies and agenda for the future I must say that it is great that America has elected the first African American to be President. While I still have doubts about this man's readiness to lead a nation, I love my country far more then my political ideology and I wish him success for the sake of my nation.

I hope he and his increased majorities in the house and senate avoid the urge to move hard left, which I believe would be a mistake and would cost them at the ballot box. This nation is for the most part a center-right country, one of the reasons this President ( please avoid foaming at the mouth at the mention of Bush) has been so unsuccessful is that he has attempted to govern to far to the right. So I hope a President Obama will govern from the center left rather then from the far left as some within the base of his party will pressure him to do so.

I also hope that he will show leadership and stand up to Pelosi and Reid by opposing a second "stimulus" package as it would not be good for the fiscal future of our nation. If he means what he says about wanting to "change" the politics of America he would do well to appoint Congressmen Ron Paul as Treasury Secretary, and Senator Dick Lugar as Secretarty of State.

As for my party, we lost and deserved to lose because we squandered the mandate that we were given at the ballot box in 2002 & 2004 by spending like a drunken sailor, and allowing the dollar to fall to an all time low. We also deserved to lose because we got away from the classic conservative principals, of small government, balanced budgets, low taxes, adherance to the constitution, and getting and staying out of peoples private lives.

While I am a classic conservative in the mold of Barry Goldwater, and William F. Buckley I think what conservatives must do is work with the new President when we agree with him, try to comprimise when we can, and oppose him when we must .But do it from a place of reason and logic and with respect. Because the sewer that has become American Politics is driving good people to avoid government service it is what truly keeps "Mr. Smith from going to Washington!"

What we must avoid at all costs is developing ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome) which is a mutation of the BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) which is by definition:

"the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush"

All this does is make our politics more bitter and devicive, it stops us from addressing the huge problems our nation and world are facing and findig solutions to them, if forces us to dig in our heals and hold so firm to our ideology that we refuse to work with others who might not be of our ideology. We start to see those who don't believe the way we do as bad or evil when truthfully they simply have a different world view then us. So I hope the no conservatives.

An example of BDS causing political damage was in the 2004 Presidential race, many on the left had such a vile rage and hatred for President Bush that is so clouded their political judgement and there rational thought, it caused them to make political decision that I believed caused Senator John Kerry to lose an election that by all accounts he should have won.

So I hope that as we move forward we can get back to some sense of civility in American Politics. We had the argument the people spoke now it's time to get to work and try to solve the problems facing this nation. We all love this country where we disagree is on what path we take to get to a brighter future.