O Happy Day!
What a glorious day to be an American! President Bush returned to office with more votes than any candidate has ever received -- and with the first popular vote majority since his father's 1988 victory.
The Republican margin in the Senate has increased (and John Thune is South Dakota's new senator!), as in the House. Republicans hold a majority of governorships. Marriage as an institution between one man and one woman was affirmed overwhelmingly in all 11 states where it appeared on the ballot, including even Democrat states like Washington.
There will now likely be a bloodbath of major proportion in the Democratic Party, wiht many theories about why the party went down to what appears to be a quite decisive defeat on virtually all levels. The Michael Moore/Howard Dean wing will be in conflict with the Evan Bayh/Joe Lieberman wing, and to me, it's not clear at all how the quite significant divisions between these two branches can be easily reconciled. THe former wing will attribute the loss to not having been liberal enough; the latter will call for a more centrist course.
Even so, this is a joyful -- but gloat free -- zone. People show their character as much by the way they behave in victory as in defeat, as President Bush has demonstrated through his gracious deference to Senator Kerry. It's hard not to relish the thought of Osama Bin Laden, the UN, Michael Moore, George Soros, Moveon.org, CBS and The New York Times being put in their places. But perhaps the better way is just to offer a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving that a good and principled man has been returned to office, despite the often unfair and unprincipled castigations of his foes.
The America I know and love is alive and well. We are the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.
The Republican margin in the Senate has increased (and John Thune is South Dakota's new senator!), as in the House. Republicans hold a majority of governorships. Marriage as an institution between one man and one woman was affirmed overwhelmingly in all 11 states where it appeared on the ballot, including even Democrat states like Washington.
There will now likely be a bloodbath of major proportion in the Democratic Party, wiht many theories about why the party went down to what appears to be a quite decisive defeat on virtually all levels. The Michael Moore/Howard Dean wing will be in conflict with the Evan Bayh/Joe Lieberman wing, and to me, it's not clear at all how the quite significant divisions between these two branches can be easily reconciled. THe former wing will attribute the loss to not having been liberal enough; the latter will call for a more centrist course.
Even so, this is a joyful -- but gloat free -- zone. People show their character as much by the way they behave in victory as in defeat, as President Bush has demonstrated through his gracious deference to Senator Kerry. It's hard not to relish the thought of Osama Bin Laden, the UN, Michael Moore, George Soros, Moveon.org, CBS and The New York Times being put in their places. But perhaps the better way is just to offer a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving that a good and principled man has been returned to office, despite the often unfair and unprincipled castigations of his foes.
The America I know and love is alive and well. We are the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.
posted by LadybugUSA at 9:21 AM
2 Comments:
Yes, Carol, it is a glorious victory. But we must, in the midst of our celebration, keep our eyes on the ball—perhaps multiple balls being juggled is more appropriate. This was a significant, and perhaps even essential, battle in the current War to Save Western Civilization.
Yes. I even view the "War on Terrorism" as one more campaign—series of battles—in that more important war.
That is is as much a war of ideas as anything else makes it no less real and vital. I've been threatening myself and others with an essay on the topic for some time, now, so I guess I'll have to get to work on it... Real. Soon. Now.
Combating Islamic jihadism is only the most urgent and readily apparent front in this war, and probably not even its most important. Consider one observer's comment on the advancing erosion of reactionary Islamic "values" in Saudi Arabia by means of so-called CWMD ("Cultural Weapons of Mass Destruction"), largely Western and Western-influenced television:
"... these are *proven* "weapons". We used them on our own children so we *know* they work! We can stamp out Islam the same way we have (effectively) stamped out Christianity." (ref: http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/mail334.html#Tuesday)
A double-edged sword, indeed.
So, yes, let's celebrate victory by our President. He, at least, _has_ made a choice to defend our country, and Western Civilization in the best ways he can. The friction and fog of war—both on the ground in Iraq and elesewhere and here at home—make it impossible to predict the outcome of the next four years, but we can be assured that "reality based reality" is a much better metric for decision making than a finger in the wind, which is the option the American people soundly rejected... well, at least a 52% margin of Americans... What to do to bring the rest into the light of day is the Herculean task facing us, now.
But one of the other joys of this election has been the humbling (not yet complete, but on tghe right track, IMO) of Mass Media Podpeople. Open source journalism may well be the "secret weapon" that turns the tide, if the blogosphere continues to be serious about the war we are in.
Oh. Must be getting old or Adult ADD is gaining ground on me (or not enough coffee in me to make up for the sleep deprivation resulting from last night :-)
Your post's title has caused the spiritual/gospel song "O Happy Day" to loop in my mind's ear since I first read your post. How I forgot to lead with a "THX" for that I don't know.
:-)
Post a Comment
<< Home