The Aftermath...

Obama won. So, what? Well…

Unfortunately, a brilliant and admirable political career is over, as John McCain is unlikely to once again venture into serious politics. But seeing how he wants to serve his country until the day he dies, I would not completely rule out the possibility but don’t hold your breathe on it. Plus, the old maverick deserves to enjoy the last decades of his life without the burden of political nonsense, but that’s his choice to make.

Palin on the other hands has both a bright and puzzling future ahead. While I doubt that the GOP would select her again in four years as a potential President or VP, she definitely has a lot of political potential. Democrat or Republican, you must realize her story and the significance of how she came to be the governor of Alaska and the GOP VP candidate. She can still serve her country in a lot of ways and she still has a lot of “executive experience” to gain. So, look for a Palin ticket in 2016 or 2020, but this election proved she’s not ready yet and I doubt anyone would suggest a rematch with President Elect Obama.

You’ll hear enough about Obama and Biden so let’s touch on a more concerning issue: Congress.

With 8 seats still undecided, the Democrats have their biggest majority in the House of Representatives in over 15 years. Moreover, the Senate, while not filibuster proof, is also overrun by Democrats and a couple of Independents who fall right in line with them (56 projected seats to 40, and 4 undecided). And if that’s not enough, Obama will appoint 1 or 2 Supreme Court judges during his administration (with Senate Approval of course). This unbalance of power concerns me deeply and should concern any American, regardless of political affiliation. Maybe Obama will be the best President anyone still alive has ever seen, but that’s highly unlikely. He’s going to make mistakes, but, like President Bush’s first term and a half before him, there is no buffer. When one distinct party can rule all three branches, you can forget about that check and balance system you learned about in government class. Now, don’t misinterpret my worries. I’m not scared of Democrats or Barack Obama, but moreso the unchecked power that they posses, and not the intentional abuse of it, but the mistaken mismanagement of it. The fact is the Democratic way will be the only way for a while, unless the Republicans can make some strides in 2010.

And Then There Were Two...

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are officially "The Dudes."
Wonderful intro, I know.

Throughout what has seemed like a million months of campaigning, we've seen Republicans and Democrats squashed by competition within their respective parties before John McCain and Barack Obama emerged as the main contenders for Commander-in-Chief. Then we had another waiting period, with plenty of speculation regarding the VP picks. I personally hoped for Romney and Jim Webb, but, surprisingly, we saw Palin and Biden tapped instead. Obama clearly made the wiser choice, as Biden's maturity, experience and traditional image balanced him out well. McCain seemed to have gone a similar route when selecting his running mate, but his choice... eh, not so great.

Sarah Palin burst on the scene as an attractive, well-spoken soccer-mom-turned-master-politician, showcasing her talent as an orator easily. After hearing her RNC speech, many, myself included, were swept up in the inexplicable hype surrounding Sarah Palin(although, yes, she was also groundbreaking for Republicans as the first woman on a presidential ticket). Then we stopped simply hearing and began to really listen, and a lot of her former admirers realized she wasn't really saying anything.

A couple of nice examples are:
-when asked to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with, Palin couldn't, even though the Supreme Court had ruled against her and Alaska in favor of Exxon-Mobil.
-when asked to name an American magazine, she couldn't, though she appeared on the covers of two major magazines just that week.

Incidents like this, allegations of her lack of experience and close examination of her integrity drastically damaged Palin's public image, though her charisma continued to draw enthusiastic crowds. Overall, though, it seemed that Palin's selection was nothing more than a cheap trick to get more people interested in the GOP, negatively impacting McCain's pubilc persona.

Moving back to Obama for a moment, excepting for a primary comment about Obama's lack of experience, he and Joe Biden presented a unified, balanced front, winning supporters, and, more importantly, keeping them, undoubtedly aiding in the win against John McCain.

Ergo, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are officially "The Dudes."