2009: All that stuff is behind us now: The Swamp

Posted January 1, 2009 10:45 AM

by Mark Silva

Suddenly, pretty much everything we know about is history.

The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, with a landslide victory for the first African-American to hold the highest office of a nation once riven by slavery, a leader once again promising "a more perfect union.'' That was last year.

The precipitous slide of a stock market - off 35 percent - echoing the collapse of an economy propped up by over-inflated housing costs and meaningless securities, marking the worst failure of the American economy since the Great Depression. That was last year.

Everything of any significance at all that happened last year, well, that's when it happened.

Which is what makes this day precisely what it is: A day of endless possibilities, the start of a time in which anyone who has any significant role to play in any part of our lives now has a chance to get it right. It's quite a challenge.

If the polls are any indication, an overwhelming number of Americans believe that things are not going well - country's on the wrong track, they say. At the same time, a great majority of those surveyed say they have optimism in the next leader of the United States to perform his job well. Which largely has to do with making everything that went wrong last year go right this year, or at least better.

Pessimism? A thing of the past.

Comments

I'm very optimistic for the new year. With Bush departing the liberals will lose their all inclusive whipping post. With the Democrats in control there will be no one to blame but themselves...well, maybe the French Canadians. Conservatism will rise form the "ashes" of the GOP as socialism repeats its historical legacy, failure. Demo's scandalize our country. Americans will tire of the pandering to all the leftist ideologues... they get thrown under the bus also. Energy costs will soar again as "going green" will tank and global warming will be exposed for what it is, cyclic. No tax cuts in reality, only increases. Afghan will become a quagmire. Yep, change is a coming.. .think the messiah will get his feet wet?

Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 1, 2009 1:08 PM

Loser,
This is exactly why the GOP has become 4th party gadflies and a very small minority party in 2009. Americans are tired of your partisan games and name calling and are only interested in cleaning up the mess that your party and your President (Bush) have made of things the last eight years. Until you figure that out you will be a member of a very small Republican minority party for a very long time, 20 years at the very least....Good luck and Happy New Year.

Posted by: your name | January 1, 2009 2:51 PM

Bubba Porter,

You harbor a rather strange sense of optimism.

What is your pessimistic outlook?

Posted by: The Original Bubba | January 1, 2009 3:12 PM

Conservatives may have dwindling ranks, increasing illegitimacy and the headwind of a very well-liked incoming President Obama eager to implement a popular agenda to deal with. But that is simply not what they gained from the election season. Their take was that McCain was insufficiently conservative (!) and that, besieged on all sides, they must stand up for the people and put the brakes on this whole "change" fad. They have nothing left but ideology, and the Drudge/Fox/talk radio megaphone that it still able to mainline that ideology into the public opinion stream. The years of groupthink have proved to BOTH sides in Washington that only conservative populists are the holders of the popular will, regardless of, you know, election returns.

Posted by: Bubba Porter MJ | January 1, 2009 3:43 PM

I wander if Obama would say something like this in the inauguration:-

"I BHO PROMISE TO FIGHT AND ELIMINATE CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON, THE FINNACIAL SPECTRUM AND WORK FOR THIS GREAT NATION EVEN IF IN DOING SO IT REPRESENTS MY POLITICAL SUICIDE"

This has to be seen,... I think is an extreme far fetch theoretical scenario, do not you think?
Beside there is a little more to consider:

Quite curious. I wander if Obama and his 'MORE OF THE SAME/QUASI-CLONE CLINTON CABINET' will discuss the middle east problematic.
Are they ready or inclined to support Israel? I THINK NOT !

The best EVERYONE (the electorate), can do at this point is to OBSERVE CLOSELY what is going to be the course of action from part of Obama and his group,…not only regarding the middle east but EVERYTHING ELSE.

This is going to be ,…'FASCINATING' - as Mr Spock from Star Trek would say
Have a good day everyone.
Sincerely,
Daniel Cabrera
Merrillville, Indiana

Posted by: Daniel Cabrera | January 1, 2009 4:14 PM

Americans will tire of the pandering to all the leftist ideologues... they get thrown under the bus also. Energy costs will soar again as "going green" will tank and global warming will be exposed for what it is, cyclic. No tax cuts in reality, only increases. Afghan will become a quagmire. Yep, change is a coming.. .think the messiah will get his feet wet?

HAHAHA!
Yes, because the angry masses are really just thirsting for more Republican "leadership", as the last two blowout Republican electoral losses have shown......

Republican kleptocracy literally doesn't care about the difference between truth and propaganda. On the other hand, the loyal right-wing foot-soldiers might care, but they're too dumb to know the difference. They have the gift that keeps on taking, yes, the "gift of faith," which means they believe what they're told.

Posted by: W. | January 1, 2009 5:07 PM

I would like to be optimistic about the new year but I am afraid that more has to play out from this crisis. Hopefully by the beginning of 2010 we can look back and say that the worst is behind us. I do not feel that way now, even though I do have moderate confidence in the president elect.

Posted by: Ron M | January 1, 2009 6:05 PM

Those who think we will have leftist ideology do not understand Obama and the effect that he will have in Washington. Rightist and leftist carping will have little to do with the policies that are sought. This is a time for action, not posturing.

Posted by: Ron M | January 1, 2009 6:10 PM

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president. He proclaimed that it was "morning in America". He then proceeded to ignore every long term problem facing the country and the world, while busting unions, doubling the military budget in peace time, deregulating business, slashing federal aid to the states and giving hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest people in America (the top 1%). Through all this, he was blissfully unencumbered by facts. You had to wonder how long it could last, and how much damage would be done. Now we are beginning to know. 1980 was not "morning in America". The Reagan era glorified greed, proclaimed that "government is the problem" and lost vital time in dealing with the long term issues that responsible people needed to deal with. The entire world is rejoicing that that bleak era, after twenty eight long years, is over. Six billion people look to the administration of Barack Obama to return us to a reality based government that can put us on a path to a sustainable future. There is no choice other than to dismantle the Reagan era. Anything else is a road to nowhere.

Yes we can! This means that there are no problems that we face that cannot be solved by good public policy, implemented by the government. Global warming, diminishing energy supplies, health care, poverty, a troubled economy, a crumbling infrastructure, vanishing civil liberties. You name it; it's just a matter of figuring out and implementing good policy.

Posted by: As of Jan 20 2009, I am a former Republican | January 1, 2009 6:48 PM

Yep, change is a coming.. .think the messiah will get his feet wet?

and Happy New year to you! and "all" of the "great" Americans.

ps. loved the conservatism will rise from the ashes of conservatism thing....great!

Posted by: bill r. | January 1, 2009 6:52 PM