Obamunism

Tonight as I watched the numbers roll in for Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, et al, I saw what seemed to be inevitable come to fruition. The pit in my stomach felt much like when the Cubs gave up a grand slam in game one of the NLDS, and I knew that their season would be over long before I had hoped. While I did not have a great love for McCain, I have an unsettling fear of the impending Obama presidency. I have never had so much hope that I'd be wrong about something, but I hope I am dead wrong on the following:

I am fearful of Obama's naive and dangerous foreign policy statements about "small countries that don't pose a serious threat." If Iran gets nukes and supplies them to terrorists, it won't be a few buildings blown up, but all of New York. Granted, this is a worst case scenario. At the very least we'll be busy dancing gavottes with the French in the anti-American UN instead of enacting actual foreign policy.

I loathe the expansion of government that an Obama presidency promises. Liberal institutions tend to not expire even if they fail. Look at Social Security. What will happen when health care is nationalized? Judicial activism will reach epic heights with Obama appointees to the Supreme Court.

What about redistribution of wealth? When the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, I will personally feel it. I live comfortably, but I'm certainly not wealthy. I worry about the small business owners and sole proprietorships that could literally be taxed into oblivion. What will the Reid/Polosi congress be able to pass now? It's a scary thought!

Most distressing is the fact that many people who voted for Obama did so because he's black, or because they don't pay any taxes and have no idea of the repercussions certain to follow his tax plans, or because they are ageist, or because they simply voted for a fuzzy, feel-good, nebulous notion of "change." (To be fair, I am also vexed by the stupidity found on the other side of the political spectrum). How many generations removed are we from an idiocracy?

The silver lining: now minorities finally are left with no excuses. The white man can no longer be said to be holding anyone down. An African American will soon be leader of the free world. In addition, while racism will always exist in small numbers, America can finally move on from its historical racial iniquities.

Again, I hope I'm wrong. Instead of catastrophe, perhaps the next four years will just muck things up a little bit. While I pine for government reform, maybe one can even hope for stasis until improvements can be made. For now, I will grin and bear it. Besides, King of the Hill is on...