Don't Bother to Vote

Tomorrow morning there will be the obligatory editorial in the paper telling you that it is your right and your duty to vote. Monday evening the local TV news will also have a little editorial and tell you same thing. These editorials will probably remind you that people fought and died in wars so we could have the right to vote. It may tell you that African Americans were beatten and jailed and lynched and had fire hoses and dogs turned on them so you could vote. If you are female, they will tell you that you are betraying all the women who fought for women’s suffrage if you don’t vote.

You will be told you have an obligation to vote. You do not; just ask Barack Obama. As a U. S. Senator he abstained from voting on very many occasions on very important issues. He simply voted “Present” time and time again. So, if Barack doesn’t bother to vote while serving in the US Senate, why should you?

The people who want you to vote are going to tell you that if you don’t vote any number of bad things might happen: your home will get foreclosed, they will take away your right to get an abortion, more jobs will go overseas, a war will continue, new wars will start, and we will all die from global warming.

If you vote the right way they will tell you that you will no longer have to worry about filling you gas tank or paying your mortgage, jobs will not leave America any longer, your taxes will be lower because only the super rich will have to pay taxes, global warming will end, and gas prices will drop.

If that is not reason enough to vote they will tell you this: This will be an historic elections and the Nation is going to elect its first Black president. You do want to be part of this historic election, do you not?

You will be told that not voting is a sign of a weak democracy and a sign that you just don’t care. Well, I am here to tell you that not voting is not a sign of a weak democracy or not caring. You could interpret not voting as a sign that things must be going so well, that people see no reason to vote. When the actions of government are so unimportant that people don’t feel compelled to vote, that is a sign that people must be pretty content and pretty certain that those who do vote will make the right decision. Not voting is a vote of confidence.

You should not let anyone shame you into voting. You should not vote unless you are real informed and confident in your decision. It is unpatriotic to cast an uninformed vote. What if you vote the wrong way and the person you vote for does something to really screw up the world? Do you want that responsibility?

Voting casually without being certain of your vote is wrong. Casting your vote should be a sober decision. Casting an unsure vote is sort of like driving drunk. So, if you don’t feel certain that you are qualified to vote or have adequately studied the issues; please don’t vote. If you get most of your news from Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report, please do not vote.

Some people will tell you that if you don’t vote you have no right to complain. That is just not true. By not voting, you are not giving up the right to complain.

I don’t want you to vote. You see, if you don’t vote, my vote carries more weight. If only 33% of the people vote, it is like I am voting for three people; if 50% of the people vote it is like I am voting for only two people. I don’t want you to dilute my vote. Let me vote for you.

Voting is difficult. It is very complicated to figure out how to do it right. Look at all those people in Florida who left hanging chads. The new electronic machines are real difficult to figure out and anyway, with the electronic machines, how do your even know your vote is counted.

You do know that if you vote, you will probably get called to jury duty? Also, I understand that this year immigration officials will be at the voting places looking for illegal immigrants. There are always a lot of police at the voting places too. A lot of outstanding warrants are served on Election Day. Voter registration records are public records so the police know who will be voting where on Election Day so it is easy pickings to serve warrants. I have heard that officials also stake out the voting place to look for people who are behind on their child support.

So, if I were you, I wouldn’t vote.

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What They Expect from Obama

Bless her heart; this dumb girl thinks that if she votes for Obama she will not have to worry about putting gas in her car or paying her mortgage. Does she think Obama is going to fill her tank and make her house payment? Assuming Obama is elected, there will be a lot of disappointed people.

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Obama and the Politics of Crowds

By FOUAD AJAMI, Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2008

There is something odd -- and dare I say novel -- in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics. We associate them with the temper of Third World societies. We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right. (link)

Comment

The author of this article analyzes the Obama phenomenon better than any thing I have read.

I am not concerned that Obama is the "anti-Christ" or intents to turn American into a one party dictatorship, yet the unquestioning outpouring of affection and enthusiasm for Obama is disturbing. I have never observed anything like this before in America in my lifetime and don't think we have ever experienced anything like it before in the history of our country. John F. Kennedy was certainly charismatic and drew enthusiastic crowds and FDR and Ronald Reagan were loved by many, but the followers of Obama seem to be almost cult-like in their adoration. The public response to Obama is more like that of the response of fans to a rock star than a political candidate.

While this is the first time we may have observed this kind of unquestioning outpouring of support for a politician in America, it is not unknown in much of the world. The response we are seeing to Obama is more like that that was observed in the German's love of Hitler, or the Cuban's early adoration of Castro, or the Chinese love for Chairman Mao. There is almost a group hypnosis going on, as if people are wrapped up in an irrational frenzy of group-think.

Certainly Obama is an attractive candidate and can make a good speech, however, he has a very thin resume and has never sponsored a major piece of legislation or championed a particular cause. He is undistinguished and has shown no leadership or legislative skills. His blemishes are just ignored by his mass of followers. If any other candidate had had the close relationship with a terrorist such as Ayers, a demigod such as Reverend Wright, or a crook such as Resco, that would tarnish their image; yet, it has not seemed hurt Obama.

If you accept that many liberals are not too concerned with Obama's association with a communist terrorist from another era, you would still think that those who profess a love for the poor and a belief in social justice would be concerned about Obama's relationship with Resco. Resco was the worst of predators who victimized the poor to enrich himself and yet Obama served him faithfully for many years. Obama's followers do not seem to be bothered by this association.

Normally the good-government types would pounce on a candidate who backtracked on a pledge to accept pubic funding for their campaign. Support for public funding of elections and a belief that money is a corrupting influence in campaigns has been a liberal article of faith ever since Watergate, yet Obama can raise unprecedented sums of money from foreign and other undisclosed sources and his liberal good-government followers do not seem to mind.

The author of this piece concludes: "The morning after the election, the disappointment will begin to settle upon the Obama crowd. Defeat -- by now unthinkable to the devotees -- will bring heartbreak. Victory will steadily deliver the sobering verdict that our troubles won't be solved by a leader's magic."

If I did not also share the author's conclusion, I would be more concerned about what I observe.

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More Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween!

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Facing the Trade off between Economic Security and Economic Freedom

I am concerned about the economic policy that an Obama presidency with a super majority in Congress may pursue. Assuming Obama is elected, it is my hope that he governs as the centrist he has portrayed himself to be; however, Obama's stated goal of "spreading the wealth around" concerns me.

There is a reason that the U.S. has led the world as the economic superpower ever since the industrial revolution. It is not simply that we are blessed with natural resources. It is not that we are naturally smarter than the people of every other country. The U.S. has had a political and economic climate that rewarded the risk taker and encouraged investment and there has been an American “can do” spirit and American optimism. Americans believed anything was possible.

Most American’s have always thought that their children would be better off than they were. American’s never accepted that some people were better, just because they were better off. Americans wanted to become better off themselves. We did not accept that we were born to a certain station in life. Whereas in much of the world, the non-rich resent the rich, in America many hope to some day become rich. It has only rarely been popular to hate the rich in this country. America has been more concerned with growing the economy and upward mobility than redistributing the wealth.

Our bureaucratic burden has been relatively light. In some third world countries it may take months, if not years, to do something as simple as get the permits to open a new business, whereas in a matter of days one can do so in most American cities. You do not have to present a market study to a bureaucrat and show the need for the new business. You don’t have to put up a huge bond. We have thought it was our right to follow our dream and take risk.

In America, while we have labor laws protecting the health and safety of workers and some laws protecting workers from discrimination in the workplace, for the most part, we have a mobile work place. The workforce can expand and contract as needed. If you recall, in France a couple years ago thousands of students took to the streets and rioted expressing their outrage at a law that would allow employers to dismiss any newly hired employee under the age of 26 within the first two years of employment. Despite France having a youth unemployment rate of over 20%, the French preferred job security to job growth. Americans have never expected security and have embraced risk. We have had the attitude that no one owes us anything; we have to earn it.

What has distinguished the US is that we have had, relatively speaking, a non-intrusive government, less regulation and lower taxation. Maybe the American Spirit is the reason we have non-intrusive government and lower taxes, or maybe it is those things that allowed the American Spirit to flourish.

Within democratic countries, there is a scale along which at one end there is relatively unregulated capitalism and opportunities for wealth creation, however there is little economic security and a lot of risk of failure. At the other end of the scale is a stagnant economy where few business decisions can be made without the approval of government and where success is punished, but there is less chaos and more “fairness.” There is trade off between economic security and economic freedom.

I hope that Obama’s economic policy is only a slight adjustment leftward along that scale and not a wholesale embracing of European-style social democracy. It would be ashamed to kill the goose that has laid all the golden eggs for all these many years. I hope the American dream and the American spirit has not been traded for the security of mediocrity. I would miss the America that was.

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Fearing and Loathing an Obama Presidency

I belong to several chat groups and read lots of other blogs and I am amazed at some of what I read. Many writers express their fears about the prospects of the election of Barack Obama in apocalyptic terms.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Obama will lead the country in the wrong direction. Under an Obama Presidency the US will move more toward a European-style social democracy. I think Democratic economic and tax policy will be detrimental for wealth creation and our standard of living. I expect a more intrusive burdensome government from an Obama presidency. I do not think liberals have the same respect for property rights or freedom of speech, as do conservatives and that concerns me. I think an Obama election and especially a Democratic undivided government will be bad for the future of our nation. However, I do not think the election of Barack Obama will be the end of the world or our freedom. To see what I expect from an Obama Presidency see my recent post on the topic (link). I think the Fred Thompson video posted below is an accurate evaluation of what to fear from an Obama presidency.

So, I am not saying that it does not matter who is elected or that Obama will not be bad for our nation. However, some of the hysteria over the prospects of an Obama presidency is just over the top. I do not think Obama is a Muslim Manchurian Candidate or the Anti Christ. If Obama is elected, as much as I may not like it, he will be my President. After the election, assuming Obama is elected, the Republicans need to be the loyal opposition but try to work with Democrats for the good of the nation. I think there is a danger in poisoning the atmosphere with irrational doomsday fears of an Obama election. It may cause some nut to assassinate the guy. But, also it poisons the atmosphere for working together. If you think your political opponents are the epitome of evil, or if the people you represent think the other party is evil, it makes compromise difficult. I know some Democrats. Unfortunately, most of my siblings are Democrats. They are not evil people; they are just wrong. I think they are naive and suffer from too much idealism and too little logic; but they are not evil.

I don’t know what the ethics are of reposting comments from a chat group. Chat group are for members only and people may not want their comments spread beyond the group. I am reposting what one writer wrote on one of the chat groups I belong to, to offer an example of what people are saying. I am not listing the group name and am only listing initials of the discussion participants. This post is not from anyone of any importance, and would not be important at all if it were not so typical of a lot of what I am reading. Stuff like this is all over the Internet and this is typical also of some unsolicited emails I have received.

M…

I am going to make a few predictions here. Now understanding that I have never been wrong before should add credibility to these guesses. These are based on the premise that Obama gets into office.

1. This blogger site and others like it will no longer exist...they will be considered anti-government.
2. Talk shows, conservative ones that is, will no longer be allowed and go off the air as anti-government.
3. Guns will be taken away from the citizenry and the National Guard as well.
4. Children everywhere will be indoctrinated to the socialist/communist ideology.
5. Christians and Jews will be persecuted as anti-government and eventually
forbidden to practice their religion.
6. All corporations will be operated by the state and employees paid from the state as a measure to protect us.
7. Homosexuality, kiddy porn and other filthy things will be allowed and fostered.
8. Traveling between states will require a passport with a reason for the travel.
9. Many new laws will be put into place which will curb our freedoms immensely.
10. Curfews will exist and political prisoners will be taken and jailed for long periods of time.

Care to add your own here? Not very pretty is it? Wonderful future for our children.

B….

Let us take a look at this.

On item 1, I see no basis for believing the election of Democrats will bring about Internet censorship and a closing down of Internet conservative chat rooms. I do believe many liberals would like to shut down conservative voices but to impose censorship on the Internet would create a huge backlash. There are a lot of left-wing voices also on the Internet who would oppose censorship. A lot of good liberals really do respect freedom of speech.

Unfortunately I think item two is a realistic fear. Up until 1985 the “Fairness Doctrine” required radio stations to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues, so radio simply avoided controversy. Under the fairness doctrine, a station that did not provide “fairness” could lose their license. There is no equivalent to a Rush Limbaugh on the left. Talk radio is a conservative phenomenon. I think many liberals would like to shut down talk radio and would gladly reimpose the fairness doctrine. The public ownership of the airways and the argument for “fairness” gives liberals the cover they need to do it. If the Democrats get a super majority it very well may happen.

Item number 3: This will not happen. This is an unfounded fear. I know many liberals would like to ban all guns, but they do not have the authority. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 decision recently that the right to bear arms is an individual right. The court will probably not revisit the issue for a very long time, if ever. With another liberal on the court, the recent decision could possibly be reversed, but even a more liberal court would probably not overturn the recent decision but may whittle away at the second amendment around the edges. In any event, there is doubt that Obama will have the opportunity to replace a conservative jurist. The conservative on the Court are fairly young, as Supreme Court justices go, and in good health.

Regarding item 4, this is based on legitimate fears but is overstated. Given Obama’s support for the Ayers education program in Chicago, there is reason to believe Obama would like to have leftist ideology taught in the classroom. [Read this New York Post story, Obama's Education Idiocy.] But, while Obama might like to turn schools into indoctrination center, he would not be in a position to do that. A Presidents power is limited. Education is still largely a state and local matter. It is possible that some federal laws could mandate some curriculum changes with ideological content, but to believe that “Children everywhere will be indoctrinated to the socialist/communist ideology,” is paranoia.

On the remaining items, this is just garbage. Why would one think we would have to have passports to travel between states under an Obama Presidency? If anything, the conservatives, with their anti illegal immigrant passions and War on Terror concerns, may be more inclined to impose travel restrictions and require everyone to carry documents than would Democrats.

On the charge that “homosexuality, kiddy porn and other filthy things will be allowed and fostered;” government does not dictate sexual mores. Society has become more tolerant of homosexuality and other alternative lifestyles over the years. I think being more accepting and tolerant of others' choices is a good thing. What you do in your bedroom and whom you do it with is none of my business. We may see an increase in the push for gay marriage or civil unions. We may see homosexuals gain the same protected victim class status as minorities and disabled people. I would oppose that, but I think any impact in this area will be minimal. There is no reason to believe kiddy porn will be more prevalent under a Democratic president than a Republican president.

For the good of the nation and our future; get real people and get a grip!

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Fred Thompson on an Obama Presidency

This is a great video! Fred Thompson talks for over twelve minutes about what a Barack Obama presidency would mean for America and the world. Unfortunately few Americans will probably have the opportunity to view it.

Thompson talks about the danger of the Democrats controlling all three branches of government. Things we will probably see under an Obama presidency include a curtailment of First Amendment rights as the Democrats reinstate the so-called Fairness doctrine. We will also probably see the end to the secrete ballot in the workplace, giving unions the power to impose unionization against the will of workers.

Most importantly, we will see a curtailment of economic liberty and an imposition of higher capital gains taxes which will destroy the economic engine of growth. I wish everyone could see this short video and consider the issues Thompson raises.

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Political Bumper Stickers, Buttons, Posters, and more

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More Political Bumper Stickers, Buttons, Posters, and more

[Objects found on the Internet;creators unknown.]

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Illegal Immigrants Flood Across Border

MANITOBA HERALD, October 2o, 2008


The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.


Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota . "He was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken."


In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective", he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."


Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water." They did have a nice little Napa Valley Cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration will be establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.

In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art history and English majors does one country need?'
[Author Unknown]

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What to expect from an Obama Presidency?

I have not given up all hope that John McCain can somehow still win this election; I just gave the RNC another campaign contribution on Thursday. Realistically, however, a look at the polls and electoral map and with only days to go before the election and the state of the economy overriding all other issues; unless something like a miracles happens, we can assume Barack Obama will be The One. We might as well get used to it. Not only does it look like Obama will be President but for the first time since 1938, both houses of Congress and the Presidency will be in Democratic hands.

What can we expect? I know that during campaigns, it is the mission of all politically motivated people to magnify the differences between the candidates and picture your candidate as having all the right answers and the other candidate has having all the wrong answers. Let us be honest: neither candidate would take the country in a radically different direction. An Obama Presidency will not spell the end of this great nation. There will be another election in four years and we will probably be no worse off than we are today. Our position in the world may actually be improved and our economy may be stabilized no matter who is elected. The difference between the two candidates is not the difference between light and dark but the difference between shades of gray.

Below are several issues and how I see them playing out under an Obama Presidency and Democratic Congress:

General Foreign Policy:
I really do not see that the world will be much different under an Obama Presidency than under a McCain Presidency. One of the major criticisms of Obama is that he pledged to meet with any foreign leader without preconditions. Much has been made of that, but that is much to do about little and Obama has since modified that remark. I suspect Obama’s foreign policy positions will be moderated by the professionals in the State Department and Joe Biden. We must admit that George Bush has lowered America’s stature in the world and resulted in America not being very well liked or respected. Obama could be a fresh beginning and restore America’s image in the world. On North Korea, Iran, Darfur and other world hot spots, I don’t think either candidate would radically depart from current US policy. I would be more comfortable with McCain at the helm, but do not expect Obama to make a terrible mess of things.

The War:
Obama has set a timeline for withdrawal but has given himself wiggle room to back off of that if conditions worsen. In any event, given the success of the surge, it looks like 16 months is a fairly reasonable time line. I agree in principle with the McCain position of being guided by conditions on the ground, however the practical impact of the two positions is not that different. Obama was never as irresponsible as Richardson or Kucinish or some of the other Democrats in promising an immediate withdrawal regardless of the consequences. I do not think Obama would want to see the region dominated by Iran or a resurgent Al Qaeda in Iraq. I am not too concerned.

Afghanistan:
I actually think Obama is wise to see that we need to pay more attention to Afghanistan. So, I look for good things. I agree with Obama that we should have stayed and fixed Afghanistan rather than invading Iraq. Obama will put more attention back on Afghanistan were we are losing a war.

Pakistan:
I think Obama was foolish to publicly say we would invade Pakistan to pursue Al Qaeda, although I think that is what we need to do. However we should do it while telling Pakistan in secret and in advance that we are doing it and while publicly denying we are doing it, or allow Pakistan to publicly condemn us for doing it and after we have achieved our objective, withdraw and let Pakistan save face. Obama’s policy is not wrong; he is wrong to publicly announce it as a policy. Once elected, I think again, the professionals at State and Joe Biden will moderate Obama. Obama is young and inexperienced and naive; he will learn. I suspect he will learn fairly quickly.

Cuba:
I actually think Obama has the better policy and will end the senseless and counterproductive isolation of Cuba. One of the last two remaining Communist countries in the world will rapidly modernize and become Communist in name only.

Health Care:
Health care is one area where I think the John McCain position is vastly superior. However, Obama has not presented a vision of universal, single-payer healthcare. Under Obama, all health care will not be nationalized. For some individuals who do not have health care, they will have it under Obama, but nothing will be done to transform the health care system. We will simply go just a little further down the wrong road, but I expect no major change.

Government Growth, Government Spending, taxes, the Economy, and Trade:
I do not expect a major advancement of socialism under Obama as many Republican pundits fear. The President is Commander in Chief of the military but not the economy and actually has limited influence. With the Congress having just spent $850 billion on a government rescue plan for the economy and our nation having record deficits, there is nothing left to feed the beast.

Republicans in power became big spenders; out of power Republicans may regain their principled opposition to intrusive government and devotion to fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, it looks like Republicans may be so reduced in number in the Congress that they cannot prevent the Democrats from cutting off debate and passing any program they like. However, there are a significant number of so-called Blue dog Democrats who believe in Pay-as-you-go and in fiscal responsibility. The Republicans and the Blue dogs and the reality of a broke government without deep pockets, I suspect, will curtail government expansion. Attention will be focused on getting markets moving again rather than new initiatives.

New free trade expansions and globalization may be curtailed under Obama, but maybe not. There seem to be as many protectionists and economic nationalist among the Republican rank and file as among Democrats so the advancement of free trade may not be that much different regardless of which party is in office. I think the leadership of both parties believes in free trade, but neither party can get too far ahead of the public. I am not sure the Democrats will be anymore likely to cave to protectionist sentiments than the Republicans.

On taxes, I think Obama’s plan to soak the rich and redistribute wealth will inhibit investment; however, all other factors do not remain constant. I doubt that Obama’s tax plan will be that detrimental if other fiscal and monetary policies are correctly formulated.

Global Warming and energy policy:
I was glad to see we had candidates of both parties who accept the science of global warming. It has been an embarrassment to me that the Republican Party has been the flat-earth party on this issue. In a time of economic meltdown and war, very little was said in the campaign about global warming.

My worst fear is that in order to “do something” the Democrats may pass a program similar to the cap and trade bill that was proposed last year. That would be damaging to the economy and do nothing to curtail growth of harmful CO2 emissions. Also, it would give the public a feeling that we had done something and would forestale really doing something. Given the state of the worldwide economy, I think Democrats will be more rational and responsible than they were when the previous cap and trade bill was presented and I do not expect them to pass anything that resembles that bill. But, maybe I just have too much faith in people’s common sense. I don’t know.

So, while I do not expect President Obama and Congress to do something really stupid, unfortunately, I don’t think they will do much that addresses the problem. Unless we put a price on carbon emission and make clean energy comparatively cheaper, I do not expect much curtailment of carbon emission. So while I don’t expect any significant reduction in greenhouse gases under Obama, I really didn’t expect it under McCain either. I believe addressing global warming should be a priority; I was prepared to be disappointed no matter who was elected.

On energy policy, I expect the US to be marginally more dependent on imported oil under Obama than it would have been under McCain. I think McCain’s policy of offshore drilling and development of new nuclear power plants was the correct path. We may see a marginal but insignificant increase in alternative fuels under Obama, but I do not expect any major reduction of oil imports. We will limp along without much change.

Abortion and Roe v. Wade:
I am pro life, but think that abortion is here to stay. We are not going to pass a right to life amendment to the constitution, ever. Even if McCain had been elected and we had gotten another conservative on the Supreme Court, I did not expect Roe v. wade to be overturned. Conservative jurist believe in the doctrine of stare decisis and precedent and would probably be reluctant to revisit the original right to privacy doctrine on which the Roe v. Wade decision was based. The most we could hope for under a more conservative court is a nibbling away at the edges. In any event, an overturn of Roe v. Wade would do very little to reduce abortions. An overturn would simply throw the issue back to the states where state courts and state legislatures would deal with it. While I would hope that would happen, I hope it would happen because I believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and federalism. I think it would have minimal impact on the number of abortions, however. I simply do not see this issue as all that important anymore.

The Supreme Court:
While a McCain win could have moved the Court in a more conservative direction, an Obama win will probably not move it in a more liberal direction. The most likely court retirees are Stevens, Souter, or Ginsburg, all members of the liberal wing. So, one liberal jurist will be replaced by another liberal jurist and the country will not be any worse off.

Poverty.
I have no clue what to expect under Obama. Given his association with ACORN and his general liberal voting record, we may see an increase in programs that condemn people to government dependency and institutional poverty. However, their was very little discussion of these issues in the campaign so I don’t think we have reason to think that expansion of the welfare state will be an Obama priority. I have been disappointed that under eight years of Republican rule, there was no meaningful effort to extend the welfare reform initiated during the Presidency of Bill Clinton.

I think that even most liberals have come to realize that making a segment of the population permanently dependent on government handouts was a failed policy, so I doubt we will see a return to the Great Society-type welfare programs. Obama may initiate programs designed to help lift people out of poverty. I hope so.

Education:
I expect a marginally worsening of the quality of American education, due to the Democratic Party’s debt to the teachers union, which opposes almost all innovation and accountability. On the other hand, educational improvement may come from state experimentation and ideas may spread state to state rather than coming from the top down. While I supported No- Child, I was always conflicted because I think education should be a state and local responsibility rather than a federal responsibility.

Immigration:
This was not talked about much in the election but I suspect that either Obama or McCain would pursue a policy of comprehensive immigration reform similar to what was proposed by President Bush. My fear is that Republicans, out of office, will pander to the public’s anti-immigrant mood rather than moderate their stance, as they would have if McCain had been elected. I do not expect any meaningful immigration reform under Obama, but neither did I expect it under McCain.

Assuming Obama is elected, I will be disappointed but I will wish him well and hope for the best. I will be more fearful about the future of our nation and the world under an Obama Presidency, but only marginally so. Obama may rise to the occasion and actually make a good President. Regardless of which candidate is elected, I don’t really think it would have changed my life much or the course of history. There will be other elections, and the pendulum will swing back. Our country will be fine.

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