80 Comments

1. Bod:

Roger,

I think you lost part of your post. I didn’t see the paragraph that starts “However …”

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:06 pm 2. David Thomson:

“If he wins, Obama will be my president,”

Alas, someone is missing the most important point—Barack Obama has no interest in being your president! On the contrary, I am convinced that he wants to be your benevolent dictator. Obama is a very dangerous man. The facts are readily available to anyone not wishing to delude themselves. We are going to have to do everything within reason to prevent him from destroying the country if he wins today’s contest.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:09 pm 3. tim maguire:

Well said. I am currently on the Island of Manhattan and my own opinion is that Obama wins the popular vote, McCain wins the electoral vote, there are lawsuits in a handful of close states but the drumbeat for Obama peters out as it becomes apparent that Democrats engaged in most (but not all!) of the voter fraud and financially, Obama ran the dirtiest campaign since Nixon.

And MDS will start up quickly but it will peter out as well as McCain appoints as many Democrats as Republicans to his cabinet.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:15 pm 4. Indeprof:

Erm…Roger?

It’s “Gallup,” not “Gallop.”

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:17 pm 5. Luke:

Roger – I agree. Whoever wins tonight will be my president.

But. I’ve been waiting a lifetime to see the Democrat Party take a loss gracefully. I was born in 1970 and as far as I can tell, neither Jimmy Carter nor the Democrat Party can figure out how to act gracefully about his defeat. The Democrats undermined the legitimacy of Reagan’s Presidency from the word “go”. And it’s been more of the same ever since.

Which is why, even though I thought impeaching Clinton was a bad idea, you got no tears from me when the Republicans did what they did.

Payback is a bitch.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:18 pm 6. ~Paules:

Mr. Kimball,

The polling results can be only as good as their methodology is true. The MSM is counting on an Obama victory based on a conviction that the polls are accurate. The blogosphere says otherwise. The question tomorrow will be: “Obama loses; how did the polls get it so wrong?” Chin up, lad. Trust in your fellow citizens and the strength of our republic.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:18 pm 7. Brent Hobbs:

Great post. I wish we could have seen the same kind of thoughts from the other side over the last eight years. And I don’t have any hope, if McCain pulls it out, that the next four will be any different. No matter the facts, he will have ’stolen’ the election.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:18 pm 8. Fritz:

Your post is correctly conditional, but I’d make it more so. I have no intention to tear down the country, but perceive that Obama plans to do just that. If Obama wins by 10 points, then we should indeed become the loyal opposition. But if he wins only by one or two, then there will be undeniable questions about his legitimacy. Without a “clean” result, and such obvious election fraud and intimidation, how can we lose gracefully? I just hope McCain is willing to put up a fighter’s fight for America to make the election legitimate.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:23 pm 9. Sgt. Joe Friday:

Obama’s agenda, and that of his legislative counterparts in his party includes higher taxes, amnesty for illegal aliens, re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine, appointment of judges who believe in a “living constitution,” support for a global tax, and for all we know reparations. I do not want to see a President Obama “succeed” if that is defined as the above agenda being advanced.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:23 pm 10. Don Eskridge:

Hussien will not be my president if elected. I look forward to:
a) imitating the disgraceful,traitorous behavior of Dems
b) doing as little work as possible so I qualify for any freebies
c) laughing my a** off when the poor wonder what happened

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:25 pm 11. Ron Coleman:

This whole “my President” thing is a really unfortunate new coinage. There is no such thing as “my President” as there is for “my God” or “my King.” As far as I can tell, the phrase was invented solely by left-wingers seeking to demonstrate that “George Bush will never be ‘my President’.”

Americans are governed by laws, not men. Our loyalty to our country should never depend on who is President, but he can never be more than head of state and head of government or, for a person in the military, commander in chief. But the President of the United States is never the head of me.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:25 pm 12. JD:

One thing I hadn’t thought of until now, in this debate on whether the right should “forgo the destructive, anti-democratic tactics perfected by groups like moveon.org”: if our worst fears are confirmed, we won’t have to do what moveon.org has done. We won’t have to resort to personal attacks, name-calling, perpetuation of baseless conspiracy theories, or outright lying. If Obama does what we expect him to do, we will have plenty of well-founded ammunition with which to prove his unsuitability to lead this country. It will then be the right’s patriotic duty to fight against him. If things go as poorly as we all fear they might, people probably won’t need much convincing anyway.
If, on the other hand, he doesnt actually turn out to be as radical as we fear (and as all evidence suggests he is) then that’s all for the better, and playing the “not my President” card would be foolish. What we can’t do is what we did with Clinton.
Either way, if we stay on the side of right, we can’t go wrong.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:26 pm 13. luagha:

If Obama is elected President, I expect to have to fight him and his minions in every legal way possible for the prosperity and commonweal of this great country.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:29 pm 14. BarryD:

Re David Thomson’s post. That’s sort of like what I thought, also, when I read McCarthy’s piece.

What’s the distance from that to, “We don’t want to fight but by Jingo if we do, we’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the money too?”

What if doing whatever one can to prevent a President’s success doesn’t tear down the country, but saves it?

‘”My country, right or wrong,” is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, “My mother, drunk or sober.”‘ G.K. Chesterton

I often think that large swaths of the American left, sometimes particularly those who think of themselves as “reality-based” and “intellectual,” can be unhinged. HOWEVER, assuming that an individual actually believes, e.g., that GW Bush is an evil dictator who staged 9/11 to make money for Halliburton while killing civilians and American soldiers, how COULD that individual think, “Yeah, but he’s my duly-elected President, so I’ll respect that, for the good of the country?”

There comes a point where the country doesn’t mean much, if it’s fallen under the rule of truly evil people.

My differences with Straugh Mann, the Truther, in the paragraph above, have to do with facts. I have to agree that, if I believed what he does about the facts, I’d be right there with him.

Our real differences with the unhinged Bush-haters (not the many rational critics of Bush, but the nutballs whose bumper stickers reveal so much), is a disagreement about what the facts are — not a disagreement about whether to support an evil dictator, should one actually exist.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:32 pm 15. Chuck Pelto:

TO: Roger Kimball
RE: Same Question….

It only means that there is a lot to be said for what the British call the “loyal opposition”–vigorously opposed on the issues, but stalwartly loyal when it comes to the the prosperity and commonweal of this great country. — Roger Kimball

….I asked of Rick Moran when he was saying the same as Andrew McCarthy….

What will you do if Obama starts shutting down ‘loyal opposition’ media? As his minions attempted in Missouri over a television commercial. Or as he did with three major daily reps in his campaign entourage?

The indicators are there that he could well attempt to do such, given the power of a Democrat-dominated Congress and himself in the Oval Office. And what if the Supremes don’t say, “You can’t do that”?

What would you do if they cut off PJM’s access to the internet? What if they came to your door with a warrant to seize your computers on suspicion of subversive activity?

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Those who believe that the ends justify the means will always prevail over those who believe in the rule of law, if those who enforce the law allow it to happen. -- CBPelto]

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:37 pm 16. Glenn:

The media is counting on a resounding Dem victory because the Dems have promised them that in return for going in the tank for BO the fairness doctrine will be reinstated and some legal way will be found to surpress the right side of the blogosphere. It’s got nothing to do with political orientation it’s just business.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:38 pm 17. Chuck Pelto:

P.S. I’m reminded of a comment by a professor of constitutional law from Denver University….

There are no such things as ‘constitutional rights’. There are only textual rights. Change the text and you change the right. — Christine from DU

So they change the text. Does that mean the rights the Founding Fathers established this nation upon are no longer valid?

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:40 pm 18. Horatius:

Vigilence is the eternal price of liberty. The behavior of the MSM during this election has been disgraceful, and to now go to the “loyal” opposition is to have your own decency used against you by those who have none.

I will not support a President Obama other than as I am legally required to. Simon, I do not ask for your support in opposing him. But I advise you to not stand in the way.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:41 pm 19. Chuck Pelto:

P.P.S. Rick Moran NEVER answered my question…..

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:41 pm 20. jim:

I’m willing to be the loyal opposition, but only if the party in power is loyal to the country. Is there honor in being the loyal opposition when the party in power is led by a traitor?

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:44 pm 21. Mrs. Jackson:

I don’t think it’s a slam dunk for Barack Obama either. I think the conditions are the ripest they’ve been in my 45 years for an upset. And if there is an upset, boy will the media be upset. Not to mention Nancy Pelosi.

Cheers Mr. Kimball – oh and didn’t you love it when Bill “the Bomber” Ayers showed up to vote at the same voting precinct that Obama had just vacated moments before after taking 15 minutes to cast his vote? How many American presidents can claim they use the same voting precinct that America’s premier homegrown terrorists do?

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:47 pm 22. Fredösphere:

Roger, you’ve entered the realm of science fiction. Literally. Isaac Asimov wrote a story set in a future in which polls eventually become so accurate (yeah, I know; science fiction was also wrong about faster-than-light travel and ESP) that voting becomes unnecessary. The giant computer called MULTIVAC figures out the results for us. Except there’s still that illusive, “human” quality that cannot quite be quantified, so every four years, one citizen–just one–is interviewed (he doesn’t vote, he only answers questions) and then MULTIVAC makes its laborious computations. The story is called Franchise. It’s an amusing artifact from a … a … well, let’s just call it a more innocent era.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:47 pm 23. Lupo:

Civility in defeat is a necessary ingredient in democratic society. While it peeves me the left spent the last 8 years making crude Chimpanzee jokes about the president and knitting the most absurd conspiracy theories and persecution fantasies … at least they didn’t have any riots. Keep up the good work, fellows.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:47 pm 24. Pajamas Media » America Votes: First Ballots Are Cast, Obama Win Predicted:

[...] What Happens Next? “I hope that partisans on the other side — whatever side that happens to be — lose gracefully.” [...]

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:50 pm 25. Anna Keppa:

Perhaps Obama supporters will explain to us Constitutionalists how Obama can publicly say the founding document of this country is essentially flawed, and then take an oath of office in which he swears to “preserve, protect and defend” it.

Way I see it, the moment Barack takes that oath, he perjures himself.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:51 pm 26. Paul Milenkovic:

My response to that snotty-snarky bumper sticker (common around here in Madison, WI) “He is not MY President” had always been “who, Charleton Heston?”

My response to that even snarkier “somewhere in Texas, a village is missing an idiot” of course has been, who, Dan Rather?”

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:51 pm 27. Quincy:

Obama will not be my President. Neither will McCain. Neither will Biden, Palin, or Barr. As a citizen of the United States, I have never had a President. Unless the Constitution changes, I will never have a President.

Will the winner of today’s election be the legitimate head of the executive branch of the US Government? Yes. Will he be the commander-in-chief of the US Military? Yes. Does he have the power to walk up to me, as a civilian, and start barking orders? No, unless he usurps that power using armed force. The fact that citizens are free from such an obligation is part of what makes this place special.

So, no. Obama will not be my president.

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:53 pm 28. runbei:

I admire Andrew McCarthy for saying that whoever wins, will be “his president.” I concur. I voted for McPalin, but will be very proud of my country if it elects a Black president. Not the least because it will empower me to say to the French, Germans, English, and others who call America racist: “KMA and GTFA.”

Nov 4, 2008 - 2:57 pm 29. runbei:

P.S. By the way, Roger, this column is worthy of Mencken in its delightful cynicism. Gosh, isn’t it amazing how well Mencken’s writing wears, in its truth and readability. In small doses, anyway; he was, ultimately, a sourpuss. In the spirit of Mencken, I say God help those who hope for deliverance from politicians. American is heading for a time when local cooperation will be essential to survival.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:00 pm 30. Alex Bensky:

Brent:

It will be worse because if McCain wins not only will the election be “stolen” but the result will be because of the deep-seated racism in the American people.

Apparently Obama 51%, McCain 49% and we are nearing the millennium. McCain 51%, Obama 49% and the country is hopelessly racist.

And any bets as to whether criticism of Obama if he wins will be due to that deep-seated racism?

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:01 pm 31. Steve:

While I appreciate Mr. Kimball’s sentiments, it’s not the loyalty of our opposition that concerns me, but the willingness of Progressives to recognize the legitimacy of dissent and political opposition.

Key reasons that the Progressives do not refer to themselves as Liberals is that they reject the propositions of Liberalism which defend civil liberties, constitutionally limited government, and the sovereignty of conscience.

It’s difficult to work in good faith with an opponent that doesn’t recognize your right to exist.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:02 pm 32. Bill:

Roger, McCarthy is not thinking this through. No one is talking about “tearing down my country rather than see….. succeed”, rather we are talking about preserving the country that lets everyone succeed. Yes if he wins he will have the title of President but not the support of almost 50% of the people. The problem is and will be that he and the liberal Congress and Courts will control the entire apparatus of the most powerful federal government we have been faced with and they will be backed aggressively by the MSM. We must oppose Obama on everything to keep him off balance just as the Dems did to Bush for 8 years. There is no doubt that Obama plans to remake America into a socialist or Marxist state partially as payback and part as self enrichment. He exhibits the classic signs of a dictator. I predict if he is successful in maintaining a reasonably successful lower end economy(welfare) he will win a 2nd term and if so we will see a huge move by the Dems to persuade the pubic to ditch the 22nd Amendment. Gee I wonder when the push will come for the Civilian Defense Force just as big, just as well funded and equiped as the military. Please tell McCarthy to wake up now.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:04 pm 33. Three Piece Suit:

If he wins, Obama will NOT be “my President.”

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:04 pm 34. Liberty Gulch - What’s this “My President” silliness?:

[...] Kimball is over at PM is quoting Andrew McCarthy trying to separate himself from those who would “tear down the [...]

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:08 pm 35. David Thomson:

I just found this bizarre comment linked on Instapundit:

“JIM LINDGREN: ‘What we are unlikely to see over the next four years is progress on serious defects in the press and the electoral process that this election revealed. It is ironic that in 2008 we probably have two of the most honest and decent men running for president that we have had in a long time, and yet this has easily been the most corrupt election in my lifetime.’”

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/026716.php

I’m sure that Jim Lindgren means well, but what in hell is he talking about? Barack Obama has run a very corrupt campaign. He lies and employs the race card at the drop the hat. And yet, many people are still tying to give him the benefit of the doubt. There is little doubt in my mind that Lindgren would not be saying something so patently absurd if Obama possessed blue eyes and blond hair. Oh my God, when will madness cease to exist? What more do they demand in the way of evidence?

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:09 pm 36. Peter the Australian:

The best revenge is to live well.

Fornicate the politicians. They matter little in the real World. Turn off the news, read tragedy or comedy, make money, be good to your friends and family, eat well, enjoy fine wine and good art, and above all talk about all these things with everyone you meet.

In Australia we used to have a rule, never talk about religion or politics in polite society. This rule served to keep the politicians in their place. Unfortunately, as the years have gone by most lefties have broken this rule. Politics then became the stuff of too many dinner party conversation. The quality of political discourse , following on from Amis’s quip that more means less, has plummeted since the old taboo ceased to be the rule. Now too many people seem to think that more government interference will actually solve problems. They have thus ceased to be able to tell the difference between the State and Society.

But the pendulum will swing back; it always does. In the UK it once looked as though the Tories (a far better descriptor BTW than ‘conservative’)would never get back into Government again, but Britain’s Obama, Gordon Brown, has been such a disater, and David Cameron such a success, that it looks like the Tories will have a large majority in 2010.

The interesting thing is that the Right has triumphed all over the Western World in the last 40 years despite the fact that the left have taken over the ‘institutions.’ Evry so often, however, the electorate will punish us because we fail to overawe the whining of the lefties in the media and academe. To come back again we have to be Right and right.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:10 pm 37. SamIam:

Sorry, but the outrageous practice of actively encourageing campaign finance fraud via internet credit card donations means Obama should be impeached soon after being sworn in if there will be justice in this country any more.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:10 pm 38. Daily Pundit » On “Girding Your Loins” (Covering Your Ass):

[...] Roger’s Rules » What happens next? If, to take one possible eventuality, Obama wins, I hope Republicans gird up their loins and figure out how to do better next time. I also hope that they forgo the destructive, anti-democratic tactics perfected by groups like moveon.org. [...]

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:10 pm 39. kynna:

#13. luagha: “If Obama is elected President, I expect to have to fight him and his minions in every legal way possible for the prosperity and commonweal of this great country.”

If McCain is elected President, I expect to have to fight him and his misguided populism in every legal way possible for the protection of our rights.

There’s not much to cheer about no matter who wins. The really hard work actually begins on inauguration day regardless.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:11 pm 40. jblog:

I have no wish to see Mr. Obama fail as president — nothing in it for me, my family, or my country.

Truth be told, he probably do the same thing Clinton did — pull a couple boneheaded stunts, and then hove for the center and govern from there.

So I will wish him the best and hope for the best.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t say “I told you so” to all my friends who voted for him if he prangs one into the tarmac.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:23 pm 41. Portones:

A very good post, Roger.

Being the “loyal opposition – vigorously opposed on the issues, but stalwartly loyal when it comes to the the prosperity and commonweal of this great country” is exactly right.

I think our most uncompromising battle should be our freedom of dissent, freedom to express opinion, and to fairly report corruption, mistakes, and problems — without interference or intimidation. Such will be our greatest defense against sinking into another of history’s failed socialist disasters, and to puttig the values of the elite above those of the individual.

Fight the fairness doctrine. Fight any simblance of the Canadian political correctness kangaroo courts. Fight for our freedom of expression. This fight is the key to recovery.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:28 pm 42. wes george:

Obama is a lose/lose situation for America. If he wins, we ALL lose because he will impose socioeconomic policies that have a proven global track record of wealth and innovation destruction, while eroding the quality of our uniquely American civic values. See Argentina, the latest victim of Obama-like economic nonsense. That’s the just the obvious downside, what we don’t know about Obama could be even more invidious since Obama and the media have conspired to defraud the American voters of any true insight into the man.

If Obama loses we ALL lose again… there will be trouble in the streets. The left will increase their efforts of the last 8 years to tear down the country rather than become the loyal opposition, they’ll be stronger than ever and add new embellished claims of racism to their arsenal of tropes. Expect efforts to delegitimize a President McCain to last the whole of his term crippling his effectiveness and dividing the nation as never before. Moreover, the Republicans, already dialectically and ideologically fatigued and confused, are unlikely to muster the focus to continue the great project that Reagan began, especially while faced with a virtual civil war at home and further looming wars abroad.

This isn’t a good day for America. Perhaps, this is how great nations slowly unravel. They commit economic and/or cultural suicide from within rather than being conquered from the outside.

Nevertheless, should Obama win, Roger is right. He will be MY President, come what may. That is the true meaning of patriotism, to stay by your country in its time of need and to always respect the leadership delivered by our sometimes less than perfect democratic process. That’s what makes us Americans. God bless America. God bless the candidates.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:28 pm 43. Clioman:

Luke notes that he’s been waiting a lifetime for the Democrats to lose gracefully. He’ll need to be something of a Methusalah for his wish to come true.

This is a result of the basic, often repeated ‘difference’ between the two sets of partisans: Conservatives think that liberals are just stupid, but that’s a condition that might be correctable–having been mugged is sometimes suggested as an eye-opening act. Liberals, on the other hand, think that conservatives are unredeemably evil. There was a time when liberals thought that conservatives might see the error of their ways by being made to spend a night in jail, but it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that suggested by my liberal acquaintances.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:29 pm 44. Alan Mowbray:

Mr. Kimball,

Suppose, hypothetically of course, our country is unexpectedly attacked shortly after the new administration takes over. And suppose that the new President decides to respond militarity. I imagine the stalwart loyalty you counsel might entail: not undermining that war effort for political advantage, not publicly cheerleading failure in that war, not slandering the President, not mocking the President’s intellect, not misrepresenting the President’s policies in order to whip up rabid opposition, not fabricating the most lurid offenses by our military for international consumption, not alleging publicly that the President committed the nation to that war in order to enrich his oil buddies, not caricaturing a formerly well-liked, and not particularly partisan Wyoming congressman and Defense Secretary as a Satanic figure…

Now we can stipulate that, in fact, no one would stoop so low as to actually engage in the kind of calumny which I have concoted above. The outlandish hyperbole is purely for effect. But even if you, Roger Kimball, were overcome by partisanship and couldn’t live up to your own noble hopes for yourself. Even if you forsook principle for raw political ambition and engaged in such behavior, you would be but one self-serving, deranged malcontent, easily ignored and of no harm to this great republic. For in America, your sour, unpatriotic, dare I say, seditious, mindset would be roundly condemned and could never infect more that a minute fringe element in either of our two great political parties.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:42 pm 45. Fred 2.0:

We tend to see Obama as an ideological figure, and this could be right. He might also be in it for the lifestyle. Or as a lark.

An Obama Presidency would start with a very sweet Honeymoon period, followed by thunderous legislation, petering out to mean little. This will be followed by a deepening recession, possibly spiced by Black Swan event or two. I expect bad news from the Middle East.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:45 pm 46. PersonFromPorlock:

Perhaps the more traditional American thought would be not that “Obama is my President” but that he’s my employee.

Nov 4, 2008 - 3:55 pm 47. Benji:

It’s not going to happen unfortunately.

Hardliners and extremists in both parties are all about party first, not country first. You won’t get them to change. They’re like your old uncle who has his old views and is too stubborn (like Jeremiah Wright, Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter…)

Let them rot.

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:02 pm 48. Barnacle Bill:

“I hope that they cling to those principles tenaciously, but that conspicuous among those principles is a commitment to democratic government, which means, inter alia , a commitment to recognizing the legitimacy of democratically elected politicians.”

I hear you, but frankly I can’t see it. After the sheep & the two wolves get done voting on what’s for dinner, if I’m the sheep I don’t believe I’d care to bare my throat and submit to the legitimacy of democratic government.

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:05 pm 49. Jason Sieckmann:

*yawn* I totally agree. Democracy is the best of the worst systems; and is ultimately a horse-race to nowhere.

Anyone remember the Constitution in all of this? No one is out there voting for their loss of constitutional rights; and no candidate has promised them back.

What about our money? No candidate is talking about the destruction of the Federal Reserve and the Fiat/Credit system. No one talks about a gold standard.

The one person we did have talk about all of these things was DELIBERATELY shut out of media coverage because… his ideas were dangerous. They certainly weren’t any more crack pot than the Mormon we had running, or the socialist (which one), or the other religious nut-bag (which one).

Ron Paul is crazy to me in terms of his religious beliefs, but the rest of his ideas were just as legitimate as they were when the founding fathers assembled them. So…what’s wrong now?

Citizens (if you could call them that) want a football game. I care increasingly less about the needs of ‘the people.’ They really are the plebs that the Romans thought they were.

-Jason Sieckmann, Mediacondom.com

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:08 pm 50. Ella:

No matter who loses, I expect either candidate to be gracious and in the long run supportive, but that will not extend to their respective political parties. At what point in our history did the Democratic and Republican parties stop representing the citizens of the United States and start representing themselves? This has been the most non-inclusive race I can remember. Democrats for Democrats, Republicans for Republicans and to heck with the rest of us. When all is said and done I want to see the “winner” of this long and tedious popularity contest do two tings – (1) Fix campaign laws so that the Presidency cannot be bought by anonymous Internet donations and so that candidates are limited to a lump sum of say $3 million and that’s it. (2) Roll back that bailout that included billions of dollars for things other than the actual bailout. If he does those two things, then no matter who he is he’ll have my respect.

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:09 pm 51. captmike:

Becoming and behaving respectfully as the “loyal opposition” would be easier if the folks who resided in that position for the past 8 years had shown a shred of courtesy to the soon departing President

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:20 pm 52. Chuck Pelto:

TO: Alan Mowbray
RE: Probably Because….

For in America, your [Roger Kimball's hypothetical] sour, unpatriotic, dare I say, seditious, mindset would be roundly condemned and could never infect more that a minute fringe element in either of our two great political parties. — Alan Mowbray

….he wouldn’t have the so-called ‘mainstream media’ helping to perpetuate the sedition, like it did for the so-called ‘Progressives’.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Propaganda must not serve the truth, especially insofar as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent. -- Adolf Hitler]

Nov 4, 2008 - 4:47 pm 53. cfbleachers:

If Senator Obama wins, he will be my President as well. My country comes first and he deserves a fair chance to be the leader of this nation. I harbor no grudges and he would start with a clean slate upon which to write his legacy. I would defend his honor as I hope he would defend mine.

Just the same, in the event he loses…I wouldn’t want to be in ACORN’s shoes, or William Ayers or the entrenched media, or Maureen Dowd…

Nov 4, 2008 - 5:55 pm 54. gaetano catelli:

strongly agree, Roger. whoever wins, i will salute him as the president.

Nov 4, 2008 - 6:15 pm 55. Thucydides:

The idea of a loyal opposition is all well and good, but it seems increasingly obvious that the “Progressive” movement is not about dialogue and exchanges of ideas, but rather gathering power for its own sake.

The example of Canadian “Kangaroo Courts” AKA the “Human Rights Commission” should be instructive to everyone as to the extent people will go when they have access to the powers of the State (identity theft by members of the commission seems to be the least of it), but what is more disturbing is the “Brownshirt” tactics that are being brazenly employed by the Progressives in the United States, including ejecting election monitors from polling stations, attempting to muzzle media that is not unquestioningly behind them, physical attacks on the property of McCain supporters (and Bush supporters in the last go round), websites which display the names and address of people who have McCain/Palin election signs in an attempt to intimidate voters…

Electoral fraud and campaign finance fraud make this a perfect trifecta; people who oppose a Progressive regime are going to have to be very careful since Progressives will have the power and resources of the State behind them, and will have no inhibitions about using them against their opponents.

Nov 4, 2008 - 7:20 pm 56. Michael Lonie:

“Ron Paul is crazy to me in terms of his religious beliefs”

…and the rest of his ideas are crazy too. It has escaped his notice that we no longer live in the world of Grover Cleveland.

Nov 4, 2008 - 8:26 pm 57. Juvenal:

The opposition for the past eight years has been anything but loyal. And the president at which they directed all their bile won fair and square. Consider all the differences with Obama: His reneging on his promise to accept public funds for his campaign, and his subsequent 7 to 1 outspending of McCain; his constant lies about his associations and background; his constant reversals on every single policy position: EVERY SINGLE ONE; and finally, the enabling of his allies in the press, who covered up, ignored and directly lied to obscure who this man really is.

If you add all that up, I believe you have a coup d’etat, NOT an election. The other side has not been a “loyal opposition.” In the past eight years, they have intensified their already open disloyalty, and have redoubled their odious efforts to subvert this country and its institutions.

Now, four decades of unchallenged (or underchallenged) lies, slander and filth have finally borne fruit. And the scum that engineered Obama’s rise to power are returning to Grant Park (By the way: Anyone want to take odds whether Obama will say “the whole world is watching” in his gloatfest tonight?), feeling that they have come full circle since the summer of ‘68. Their revolution of lies began there, and there they will celebrate its maturation.

I owe these people nothing. My loyalty is due my country, not them. I have always been loyal, and will continue to be so. They have always been disloyal, and now that they have taken power, they’ll continue to be so. What I owe them is resistance. With these people in control, there is no other way to be loyal.

Nov 4, 2008 - 8:33 pm 58. Ally Oop:

Have they started to line up to collect their slavery reparations checks yet?

Nov 4, 2008 - 8:38 pm 59. Wayne Shall:

Anna(#25) I’m with you. How is he going to stand up in front of all to see and swear to uphold the Constitution? An out and out lie!
Good thing it’s just a little document, it’ll fit under the bus nicely.

Nov 4, 2008 - 8:56 pm 60. Harrison:

Since more than half of the U.S. population doesn’t vote the election means nothing. The corporate liberal media establishment just feels that a Negro in office would serve their interests best at this moment, so this Kenyan non-entity is barfed up for the easily swayed amongst the great un-washed.

Nov 4, 2008 - 9:32 pm 61. The morning after « Likelihood of Success:

[...] Effective Inauguration Day, Barack Obama is the President.  He’s not “my President” — but only because there’s no such thing as “my President.” [...]

Nov 4, 2008 - 10:09 pm 62. Ansel Floy:

I know I am on the wrong post but I do like to entertain myself by listening to what the opposite side has to say. That being said, he has reached out to you. I think you will see a couple of Repubs in his cabinet. More importantly please get a grip. It’s the usual doom and gloom with what you think things may be. I don’t think you guys care about the US and especially the rest of the world. I am sure you still have your parents money and no matter what you will be fine. For us common folk it’s a welcomed change. With a majority in the Senate and House he will not have much push back in getting his ideas accross. Boy am I glad you guys don’t run this country. It was a LANDSLIDE……SCOARBOARD! Take it and like it. A democracy leaves room for changes when the PEOPLE feel like one is needed, so just take this change and shove it up your ass for the next 4 years…..and possibly 8! You don’t want to be involved in this process then so be it. Helllooooooo, you are no longer the majority! The people have spoken, so suck it up and keep compalining for the next four years. But you can always move out of the country too, we won’t miss ya!!!!

Nov 4, 2008 - 11:37 pm 63. Dennis:

I’m sick of this namby-pamby sentimentalist BS about “he’s my president too,” ” I wish him well,” “we should all bask in the wonderful moment of electing a black president,” etc.

This is a very cold, calculating, phony man – one with no real accomplishemtns or experiences to his name that would indicate he’s fit for the job, except being a supreme narcissist (writing two memoirs by age 46, after one full year as a Senator?) and slogan-making Teeleprompter reader -and the most far-Left person ever elected to the American Presidency. The forthcoming Obama-Pelosi-Reid Triumvirate is a very scary prospect indeed!

Why is it Republicans always pull this “play nice-he’s my President too” BS after elections? When’s the last time the Dem were gracious after a defeat? Obama has pledged to Planned Parenthood that the FIRST THING he will do as President is work to enact FOCA. We’re supposed to all sit on our hands now and clap and say how wonderful that we’ve elected a black man, nevermind that he’s a far-Left radical who’s pledged that the first thing – THE FIRST THING! – he wants to do is ensure that there are more abortions?

What a sick culture we live in. Where can I go to return my citzenship in this craphole? Not “my” President, this infanticidal scumbag!

Nov 5, 2008 - 2:27 am 64. Chuck Pelto:

TO: Dennis
RE: Actually….

Where can I go to return my citzenship in this craphole? — Dennis

I do believe there is a way that one can renounce their citizenship. But consider this….

….where would you go? France? Canada?

All the others are so much worse.

RE: Abortion

I do not fear for the children murdered by their selfish mothers or the ‘physicians’ or such. I’m certain that He can take care of them.

I’m equally certain that He will ‘take care of’ those who murdered them.

As for the rest of it, I’m reminded of the final words of Emperor Claudius in I, Claudius….

Let all of the poisons of the world hatch out.

….when Nero became emperor of Rome.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Welcome to the new Rome. -- CBPelto, c. 1994]

Nov 5, 2008 - 5:26 am 65. Utopia Now! « Free Canuckistan!:

[...] but something new which must rise out of the ashes of November 2008. While I agree with Roger Kimball and Mark Steyn that now is the time for a loyal opposition, not rightwing nutrootery or civil war, [...]

Nov 5, 2008 - 5:43 am 66. Juvenal:

This “Ansel Floy” character is a perfect example of the ignorance and malice that we’re up against: “I am sure you still have your parents money and no matter what you will be fine. For us common folk it’s a welcomed change.” Are you kidding me? How out of touch with reality can a person be?

Nov 5, 2008 - 5:59 am 67. michael:

I am no fan of Obama–not likely. But that people from the New Criterion–smart people who should know better–really thought, apparently right up to the end, that McCain still had a chance to win this election, compels me to quote Rousseau: “Quit your childhood, my friend, and wake up!” Talk about the drive to self-deception! I thought that was one of the things that the New Criterion–specifically, Roger Kimball–was so adept at crushing (and thanks for that, by the way). So, I say, enough belly-aching–and to arms!

Nov 5, 2008 - 6:31 am 68. Carl Sesar:

We’ll just have to wait and see.
See what?
His birth certificate, of course.

Nov 5, 2008 - 7:05 am 69. biff:

Your tie looks stupid, too!

Nov 5, 2008 - 8:20 am 70. The Eagle:

To michael: do you know what kind of swindler Rousseau was ?
To the others: there can’t be “loyal opposition” now; how can you play by the rules if they’re the first to change/abolish them, according to the interest of the Party? That’s called asymmetric warfare and it’s been explored and improved by communists, marxists and the Left for many many years. And it’ll go on here – boosted by a democrat dominance – and things will only get worse for everyone, except for those who profit directly from the government. So it’s the duty of every Republican and Conservative to stand for the Constitution and to defend and fight for the American deepest values.

Nov 5, 2008 - 9:58 am 71. Anthropogenicagent:

Save your self the grief of trying to analyze the present situation just remember in Bastone, General Anthony McAuliff responded to the Germans’ order to surrender with a one-word reply: “Nuts.”

Accept the result or not, but resist gracefully, with class.

Nov 5, 2008 - 11:14 am 72. Carl Sesar:

What happens next?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
See what?
His birth certificate, of course.

Nov 5, 2008 - 11:24 am 73. Anthropogenicagent:

For “michael”

You seem to think we are due our dose of reality. I think “reality” is more like the stuff of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. For all we know the root cause of the victory is that Michelle has Barak in the most comfortably underwear you can imagine; to wit, the permanent smirk on her face.

Nov 5, 2008 - 12:24 pm 74. Juvenal:

Anthro:

According to Stephen Ambrose, a 101st AB medic trapped in Bastogne said of the enemy: “They got us surrounded, the poor bastards!”

Nov 5, 2008 - 12:32 pm 75. Andre' Jones:

Roger, It actually happened as you said. McCain’s succession was graceful and eloquent. But, thank goodness no hanging chads!
I was upper middle class, public school and surrounded by a diverse population all my life. I have witnessed prejudice first hand when we joined an all white country club in the suburbs of Maryland. At the same time, I was introduced to an integrated jr high school. My library partner was a bright black girl. She let me touch her hair, we laughed and helped each other learn about each other. We became friends. I asked her if she would be my guest for lunch at the “all white country club” to make statement-I was 13 years old. We went and I couldn’t believe how people could turn us away from something as simple as having lunch together.
I understand that it might not be the fact that Obama is black, but the ideologies of classes, but I have a good feeling that he is right for healing, catching up with reality, and hope, change and everything that is warm and fuzzy. I don’t see anything wrong with “all that good” to pass around. You will see that people will have a different attitude and will bring this country back in the right mode. “YES WE CAN”

Nov 5, 2008 - 4:43 pm 76. Andre' Jones:

Roger, it isn’t everything you expected, except that everything was civil. That was okay?

Nov 5, 2008 - 4:47 pm 77. Polemicscat:

#6 Nixon was wrong about several things, but he was never more wrong than when he said, “They won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around any more.” Repeating a slander on the dead Nixon when every journalistic rag in the country has done it numerous times while he was living is not clever. More than that, Nixon was not much worse than others who have gotten off without even a mild reprimand for dirty tricks.
Example, Papa Joseph paid a man name Russo to run a three way campaign with another Russo who was running against John F. in his first foray into politics.
And, in LBJ’s first win in a political race, a crucial precinct’s ballot box disappear during the vote counting and strangely reappeared late in the evening stuffed with ballots for LBJ.
To Nixon’s credit, in the 1960 race for president, he bowed out rather than cause a national crisis by contesting the virtually tied contest in crucial Illinois, where the Chicago’s Democrat machine had almost certainly stolen the election from Nixon by raising the dead so they could vote.

Nov 5, 2008 - 9:35 pm 78. rhodesian:

Having suffered through the World Series riot in Philadelphia I’m thankful the Obama celebration seemed to be just that. McCain’s concession speech showed why he had to lose. He sounded as if he’d just stepped out of a time machine. Obama’s acceptance speech was fluffy, right down to the promised puppy. We have finally witnessed the end of the twentieth century.

Nov 6, 2008 - 8:36 am 79. Andre' Jones:

I meant secession. I am a little rusty at writing! I know what to say, but I need to double check to make sure it is correct. If I were speaking, it would have gone over someone’s head. At least I know that Africa is a continent and not a country!

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:37 am 80. Andre' Jones:

I understand that I am in Lion territory, and after all, I am hunting lions and not rabbits. If I miss a shot, misspelled words included, the lion will rip off my liberal head and eat my guts.
George Bush addressed his house and senate before their break and said, “You will all be coming back in January, but I will not, he, he!” Historians are already saying (talk about jumping into the future) that the George Bush legacy is a disaster. And still, only time will tell, less we forget or want to forget.
We are never kind to our leaders. Being the president must be a thankless job; why candidates spend millions of dollars to be president is “twisted.” Wanting to change history for mankind is nobel, and greatness is measured by our accomplishments.

I am finding it humorous that the stock market went down because of Obama’s win. Hasn’t the stock market been going down for the past six months? Hasn’t it flat lined for eight years. Suddenly, the energy crisis is Obama’s fault. He isn’t even president yet, and the media is already making it Obama’s fault! President Bush is still our leader and cannot hold back the waters that have been building since his poor decisions; real policies real debt, real stay the course even if we are wrong. We are going “ground zero” because the last administration had a lack of foresight, oversight, and stayed the course. I am so mad that people never saw George Bush without any clothes.
In some respects I see this recession as a house cleaning. The slate is clean for the next guy. It is a very good place to start making changes so we “Don’t get fooled again, he he.”

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:22 am

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