Trying to Find a Silver Lining

I have always been a pretty positive person. It's hard to get me down for long, and I've learned in the course of a life that is now well into it's 5th decade that most of the things that we worry over are somewhat insignificant. For instance, my hometown Philadelphia Eagles lost a heart-breaking NFC Championship game yesterday to the Arizona Cardinals. The defeat means that the team falls just short of reaching football's ultimate goal - the Super Bowl. It was very disappointing and somewhat frustrating as the final seconds ticked away and we came to realize that our team was not going to make it. What is even more ludicrous to me is what will happen over the next week or so, as all of the 'Monday Morning Quarterbacks' come out of the woodwork to criticize every poor play and missed opportunity. I will most definitely be avoiding all sports talk radio stations for the next couple of weeks. As for me, I try to find the silver lining. With the Eagles it will be in the way they played for the last six weeks of their season, when they had to win nearly every week to keep their season alive. They won most of those games, and it was a fun time to be a fan. To me, Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid showed that they are still among the best quarterbacks and head coaches in the league, and some strong young players leave me believing that next season will be a strong one for the team. So football is over for 2009 here in Philadelphia. Only the Arizona-Pittsburgh meeting in the Super Bowl remains for the NFL. Tomorrow will be an even bigger challenge for me in trying to find a silver lining. Today marks the final day of the Presidential administration of George W. Bush. One of the most liberal politicians to ever become the President of the United States, Democrat Barack Obama, will take the oath of office on Tuesday. He will have a mostly supportive Congress and Senate behind him, as the Democratic Party is back in charge of both Houses. And the big television networks and former mainstream media newspapers are all on board with this liberal Democratic government monopoly. The fact is that for conservative Republicans such as myself, the next few years are likely going to see one disaster after another play out against the country that we love. We are likely to see taxes raised for all Americans as the Dems both repeal the outstanding Bush tax cuts and raise them further with their own legislation. We are likely to become far less safe as the Dems slowly dismantle the security programs put in place by the Bush administration after 9/11. The budget deficits of today will balloon with pork-barrel spending that goes far beyond any savings found by repealing the tax cuts and bringing home some troops. And at least in the first year there will be partisan calls for investigations into members of the Bush administration for nothing more than political vindictiveness. It is going to be a very, very ugly time in America. But that is what Democrats do best. They complain, they whine, they distract, they get divisive and vindictive, and they bury America under taxation and regulation while playing Russian roulette with our national security. This is what is likely to happen over the next four years. We can only hope that the liberal Dems don't do too much damage before the Republicans can get our acts back together and reclaim power. In the mean time the positive attitude person inside me will be searching for a silver lining for America. For one, black Americans should have to finally set aside any thoughts that they have any barriers. The United States of America has proven that race and sex are no barrier in advancing to the highest offices in the land. That is a good thing. But which minority is the one that takes office and commands power, that has always been the real issue. A black or female President, or any other minority, is not the problem. A liberal Democrat President of any stripe is the problem. Here's to hoping that the Democrats finally find a way to get more things right than wrong for once. I pray for the success of Barack Obama in keeping America safe, in leading a fix of the financial problems our country faces, in maintaining traditional American values, and in building political bridges rather than allowing the country to remain distracted by the partisan politics of people like Nancy Pelosi. I will sincerely pray for those things. But knowing the nature of the Party to which he belongs, and that of the vast majority of its members in political power seats, I don't have much hope. But I will keep praying for America, and will keep looking for the silver lining.

President Sarah Palin

The one major thing that came from last night's debate between Vice-Presidential nominees Joseph Biden (D) and Sarah Palin (R) was the stark contrast between them. I am not talking about any of the obvious differences: male vs. female, old vs. young, liberal vs. conservative. No, the contrast that I am speaking about is the difference between the career insider Biden, who came across as the stereo-typical establishment politician that he is, and the relative newcomer Palin, who is quite obviously a woman of the people. Sarah Palin is exactly what many Americans have been looking for these days: real change. Not the generic, all gravy and no meat 'Change' as espoused by the Obama campaign, but real, true change back towards positivism and true conservatism. The contrast began right in their opening remarks, when Biden thanked the moderator and welcomed Palin, then went right into his usual political rhetoric: the current economic 'crisis' has no blame to lay at the door of Washington, per se, because that would, of course, lay blame with Biden and his fellow career pols. No, the blame lay with "the last eight years" of economic policies: the Bush years. What more should one expect, right? On his next opportunity, he painted his old friend, John McCain, as someone "out of touch", as someone who flip-flopped on the state of the economy in just a two-hour span in recent weeks. Well, what we should expect, and what we actually want, became quite clear when Governor Palin began her comments. After thanking the moderator and the commission, Sarah Palin spoke to our hearts when she recognized that it was her "privilege" to be able to speak to Americans on the issues. She then directly answered the moderators question on what got us into this predicament, appealing to 'Joe Six Pack' and to 'hockey moms' to band together to ensure that this never happens again. Palin went on throughout her presentation to state that she would fight as Vice-President to "do what is right for the American people, put government back on the side of the American people..." What Sarah Palin did last night was remind us of the dynamic woman that she is, that she first showed the American people just over a month ago at the Republican National Convention. She is one of us. She has the same experiences that we do. She is not a Washington fat-cat insider pol with tangled allegiances and numerous hands in her pockets. She is her own woman: a strong wife and mother, and a true political conservative who not only talks that talk, but has also walked that walk. This morning, in the aftermath of the debate, I was listening to a conversation on a news media outlet that is a strong supporter of Barrack Obama. The talking heads had one prescient point to make that I found very revealing. The woman speaking said that one thing Palin has ensured, no matter who wins this year, is that she will be a major player four years from now, someone who will pose a legitimate threat to the Democratic Party. She will either be an incumbent VP with four years of national governmental experience under her belt, or she will be a major contender for the Republican Presidential nomination. Personally, I fear an Obama presidency for the long-term damage that it would likely cause to our federal and state judiciaries, and for the implications to our longterm economy thanks to his likely tax policies. But the one thing that would come from such a scenario would definitely include a gathering storm of conservatism, and no one would be more poised to lead that comeback than Sarah Palin. She will be VP for four years, or a crusading Governor with a growing resume and following. Either way, she will only be a stronger candidate, this time not for the 2nd slot (barring a McCain win and his health and desire staying solid), but for the top spot. There are three words that conservatives can take heart in, and that liberals need to fear, and those three words only grow closer and closer to becoming reality after performances like the one she put on in last night's debate: President Sarah Palin.

The Eurack Obamapean

It has been described in the adoring old media as 'a sea of humanity' and 'hundreds of thousands of adoring followers'. Of course, I am talking about the crowds at rallies for United States Presidential candidate Barrack Obama's visit this past week to Europe for his speeches in front of the 'adoring throngs' - in Germany and France. Meanwhile, back home here in the good-old United States, where the election actually matters and among his own nation, Republican candidate John McCain chose to visit with and talk problems with real Americans. The Dems just don't understand the significance of the difference. A professor on public policy at George Mason University, Jeremy Mayer, is quoted as saying "...if you look at the pictures this week, McCain is speaking at a German restaurant in Ohio, and Obama is speaking before 200,000 Germans in Berlin” as if that is somehow a negative for McCain. Obama is speaking to a lot of Germans while American hero John McCain is speaking to a regular American-dream independent businessman, but somehow Obama's Euro-speech is more significant? Only to the liberal Kool Aid-drinking, Dem-supporting academic elites and the old media. With all the attention, Obama gained nothing in the polls during his big Euro-love festival. Liberal pundits are scratching their heads wondering what they have to do to get their candidate ahead. They just don't realize that there is little that you can do to fool the full 51% of the American population of Americans who support positions to the right of their far-left agenda. It is not enough that he chose Europe to make his big public push this week, Obama was also seen globe-trotting in the war-torn Middle East. Problem was that he once again found a way to alienate our troops while over there. He continued his strategy of putting forth two different positions at once, depending on whatever audience he was in front of at the time. Pull out the troops, keep a strong presence. Keep up the fight, time to end the war. Back and forth, flip and flop, two-faced to the end. Those liberal pundits will continue scratching their heads as to the tight polls right up until their election loss in November. They just don't get it, that the majority of Americans will always chose a real, proven American hero over a Euro-candidate any year.