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....I've been deeply troubled and ashamed of what has been perpetrated on the world stage by our misguided and criminal administration. I won't go into the volumes of abuses and abrogation of our cherished laws and codes of hallowed ethics by these horrific wretches who have nearly destroyed our great country and staggered the entire planet with their dark machinations. I'm still not convinced that we can claw our collective way out of the quagmire the Bush Administration has created; it may take generations to fully right the many blights of the last eight years. But tonight...I'm genuinely and profoundly proud of my country and what a determined body politic can accomplish. We shall see if President Obama can live up to the grand expectations that we've set for him. The bar is a very high one and he is starting from a tremendously deep abyss of nearly total failure that is the disgraceful legacy of the Bush/Cheney years. He will need sagacity, herculean will, calm in the face of adversity and he is given the task of uniting a very divided America. I wish his administration every possible success, may we return to our once cherished position of honor and international dignity. May we once again work with the world and not against it. Time, circumstances and decisions will tell the tale. Let us set aside our differences and cleave close. Let's make America a beacon of hope and accomplishment, to borrow an old cliche that is nevertheless valid, again...one small step at a time. Crawling before we can walk before we can run. I'm so proud of New Mexico and Colorado for helping to make this wondrous event possible. I had my doubts. Many. I'm so glad I was wrong.
We live at a crossroads my friends, may we choose our future paths wisely and with grace. Aloha.
Last edited by dracul; 11-04-2008 at 10:05 PM..
Reason: Taking the high road at last :)
A telling image during last night's t.v. coverage: many tears being shed by Obama supporters . . . not one by McCain's supporters during his concession speech.
To borrow words from President Gerald Ford: "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." This may be, my cyber friends, a transformational Presidency seen only once in a generation. Godspeed my President! Our strength is your strength.
The national nightmare is not over. Not because Obama is the president, or someone else is in control of the Senate/House etc. This national nightmare has been taking hold for decades. I think most of rational thought know what this nightmare is. The problem is, our country is broke. The biggest issue facing the next president of the United States is that the country is stone cold broke. Or at least it would be if it were a business. The accumulated debt of the United States so far exceeds its revenues that if it were a corporation, the federal government would be in bankruptcy court.
You won't hear about this from politicians for one simple reason: Most of that debt is for programs promised to current and future retirees. Social Security and Medicare are too popular to cut. But they're too expensive to fund. So politicians (Udall, Pearce, Teague, Tinsley, Richardson etc) ignore the problem.
The Social Security and Medicare programs alone have 54 Trillion in unsecured debt alone. We ran up this debt because pols of both parties voted for popular programs without raising taxes to cover them.
Obama talked a great game about only having to raise taxes on the top 2% of homeowners while cutting taxes for everyone else. In reality, his advisers know these figures, and Obama had to infuse rhetoric into his stump speeches that translated into a calm, steady hand. The reality is, however, our country is broke. Many people who are supportive of a candidate suffer from post-campaign euphoria and say naive things. But imagine for a second that Obama faced this problem honestly and decided to raise revenue to pay for the unsecured debt of SS and medicare. How much would taxes have to rise?
Per the Congressional Budget office, the income tax would have to more than double to offset entitlement expenses. That would mean the tax rate on income now in the 25 percent bracket where many middle class Americans find themselves, would rise to a staggering 63 percent. The top rate would have to rise from 35 percent to 83 percent.
Now, the fault truthfully lies squarely on the shoulders of both parties. This is one area where the true spirit of bipartisanship reigns supreme. Both parties want to pass this problem to the next generation. Eventually, every young person in America is going to have to pay for it.
A telling image during last night's t.v. coverage: many tears being shed by Obama supporters . . . not one by McCain's supporters during his concession speech.
that's because obama's supporters are stinking fruitcakes.
that's because obama's supporters are stinking fruitcakes.
I guess the fruitcakes have spoken loud and clear: Texas, take back your village idiot.
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Although my old state of FL went blue tonight too - cool!
