I don’t think I shall ever understand how we got here.
After an election saga that lasted almost two years and frayed our collective sanity, Tuesday’s events might be evidence of permanent cognitive dysfunction.
Whatever the diagnosis, this election has brought out the worst in Americans, and no amount of recompense will justify what we have lost ““ or failed to gain ““ by electing Barack Obama, dare I say, the next president of the United States.
It’s easy to scratch our heads at this moment and wonder how this could come to pass. How did a freshman senator with not a shred of legislative achievement to his credit, who is friends with the most radical elements of society, come to occupy to the highest office in the universe, at the most consequential time in recent memory?
It saddens me to consider the injustice. Like many elections, this one was fought and won in the media, but never was a candidate so much in the pockets of the people who are supposed to show restraint in endorsing candidates.
In all fairness, Obama deserves most of the credit. Never did a politician have such a belief in his own aptitude, nor did one boast about it the way Obama did. From romanticizing about using the Brandenburg Gate as the backdrop for his European Tour, to cheering, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” he has already anointed himself among our greatest politicians, indeed our greatest childhood heroes.
But even this man, inclined to the soggiest displays of narcissism, would have to admit that his opponent waged a valiant campaign given what he was up against.
In the primary season, Obama agreed to “aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed election,” and John McCain took him at his word. But Obama proceeded to abjure from that promise in June to eventually amass a staggering $600 million in public and private contributions. Having stayed loyal to public funding and having to face a recalcitrant media, McCain had to fly against an overwhelming headwind.
In the end, though, McCain’s campaign was doomed by the economic crisis and people’s perception that somehow, he was culpable.
America passed up a hero in John McCain, a man whose capacity for the presidency should never have been questioned, who appreciates the challenges we face abroad ““ a nuclear Iran, Islamic fascism and a resurgent Russia with eyes on reforming the Soviet Union.
Now, as we confront these challenges, we are led by a man with the incipient experience of 143 days in the Senate ““ an amateur whose foreign policy is rooted in naive convictions of everyone working together and multilateralism. Fanatics will stop at nothing to destroy us, and we played right into their hands by electing a man who’s willing to give them an ear.
Soon, the afterglow that comes from electing Obama will fade and the people who hung on his every word like Pavlov’s dogs will realize the profundity of their error. But that is no consolation.
We are now committed to an ultra-liberal agenda the likes of which have never been seen in American politics. It is an agenda that strikes a blow to justice in every sphere, and threatens to dismantle the fabric of this great nation.
Here’s what an Obama presidency will look like:
(1) The most monumental taxes in decades. Obama plans to increase all the major taxes, on income, capital gains, estate, dividend, death, etc., effectively turning the government into a massive salt lick.
(2) A restoration of the “Fairness Doctrine,” a superbly misnamed project that will purge the laissez-faire approach to political programming by stipulating that “coverage of controversial issues by a broadcast station be balanced and fair” ““ according to government standards of fairness. It’s specifically aimed at stemming conservative supremacy in talk radio (the only medium we have any claim to).
(3) The elimination of secret ballots in unionized elections, preventing employers from opposing unionization.
(4) Supreme Court justices who’ll bring new meaning to “loose constructionism.” These men or women will trample on the Constitution with a judicial philosophy predicated on “empathy” instead of justice.
(5) A government-run, universal health care system, which will extend health care to 50 million uninsured people, including over 10 million illegal immigrants. Since the number of doctors will not expand to keep up with the huge influx of patients, we are likely to see a rationing of health care.
This nightmare is not far off. At this point, it looks as if the Democrats will get the 60 seats they need to prevent a Republican filibuster, meaning that they can do practically anything. By virtue of this election, and by virtue of the pent-up desire for innovation in Congress that has been building in the last eight years, we should all expect a radical turn to the left ““ no checks and balances, no safety valve, no temperance. This election meant all or nothing, and we’re about to get a huge and unhealthy dose of liberal revenge.
If you’re at your wit’s end, e-mail Pherson at apherson@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.