There Comes a Time

There comes a time in every Republic where the torch must be passed. Many, including myself, thought that after the election that such a torch had been passed after virtually two decades of the so-called recent first families (Bush/Clinton) of American history with the historic election of President-elect Obama.

History demonstrates various transitional periods of American leadership or political thought, whether Lincoln, Roosevelt, Wilson, FDR, Kennedy and frankly maybe even Bill Clinton. I have little issue with the will of the people in practice, nor should any true American, and we all should endeavor to look at our President regardless of Party affiliation as our President. This of course has been my greatest criticism of the far left ideology. An acceptance of the will is only garnered when the result is of there persuasion. Hence since the election of 2000 and the result of a few court battles, the view that Bush was "not their President" rang out even before 9/11 or Iraq. The latter merely elevated the sentiment that Bush was not in their view legitimate, which begs the question again whether the left simply only aligns itself with Supreme Court views that are aligned with its own agenda or do they really respect the Court overall. I mean, its fine for the Court to say pass Roe v. Wadeor create a special status for certain citizens and all but if a Court, like say California's State Courts or the US Supreme Court upholds the will of the people in the recent marriage issue well then they again fail to recognize legitimacy. Of course, should the Courts overrule the will of the people then the Courts again as the sword of the movement are once again accepted.

I only bring this up to reflect just what kind of hypocrisy that the President-elect is engaging within his own Party. Many on the left, and rightfully so it seems, are beginning to see Obama in a very new light given his recent annoucements for cabinet posts and his national security team.

Look, I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton, whom many far left bloggers railed against for months in the Primary and are furious about her nomination, will be a huge asset in elevating Amercias "standing" or appearance in the world but in the end in these times very little will change. Mumbai should demonstrate that. The terror being advocated was not against a figure like a Bush or a Clinton, but at what America stands for at its very root. Unless the new majority plan on changing that very thing than other than great diplomacy and cordial relationships very little will change on the ground. This is why I believe the far left of the Democrat Party is railing today at these cabinet posts. None of these folks represent anyhting new or a true paradigm shift with regard to implementation of policy, though they certainly will be better equipped to put some well placed spin on it better than their predecessors.

It is my contention that come January 2010 very little will have changed in reality though "officially" I am sure certain policies will be altered. Whether or not one voted for Obama or not, one has to respect the position he will be in in the coming months. There will certainly be those clamoring for "change", but there are great differecnes between campaigning ideas and governing principles.

If there is one are that President-elect will likely place greater concentration on and thats the United Nations and though Obama may have the greatest intentions history and events demonstrate that the UN as an organization probaly needs some ressurecting, but not at the expense of American sovereignty. I hope that Obama tip toes in this area and does not make some of the mistakes that were made by the Clinton administration.

And this brings us to the "torch". Of course the election was significant and historic, but since that process concluded we are beginning to see some very (old) familiar faces in Washington. Not just cabinet posts, but advisors and policy crafters. Pundits can spin the fact that everything will be run by Obama, but how "new" are some of the ideas and visions of these insiders from the Clinton years really? Sure we know that the Clinton team had some success with the budget and economics, but it was done at the expense of the military and defense spending which allowed the deficit to be reduced. Is 2009 the time to revisit that strategy? Given the world situation, even if we leave Iraq, is the world different than 1994? Can they honestly believe that the model of Kosovo can be applied to the Middle East or tensions between India and Pakistan or China and Taiwan or Georgia and Russia?

These are different times. We need new ideas and new visions or even new tennets. There is opportunity here. The torch was passed to a young, articulate Obama for a new page in Amercian history, only the problem is that most of those writers of this history are anything but new and come with tired ideas of the past and such baggage as power envy.

There comes a time when the torch must be passed to a new generation of leadership so that our liberty may be refreshed and though many see these new annoucements of representing a "middle ground" it begs the question whether very much will change in reality and whether Obama will permit himself to be a great leader or merely a transitional one in the years to come.