Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Yet There Is Hope

"They did not listen, They're not listening still. Perhaps they never will." ~ Don McLean

By this time we now know Barack Hussein Obama has been elected President of the United States of America. I haven't quite sorted out my thoughts on this yet, but suffice it to say for now, I am disappointed in the gullibility of the American people. I really thought the majority of this country was smarter than this.

I guess I was wrong.

How anyone could have fallen for this untested neophyte's lies is beyond my comprehension.

I will share one thought:

We can only hope that President-elect Obama's administration is as effective as the Democratically controlled Congress and Senator Obama has been in the last two years. The absolute best that we can hope for now is that the Democrats continue to be a do-nothing political party. Then, although America will not have improved, at least it won't have gotten much worse.

More on this when I have collected my thoughts.

39 comments:

Most Rev. Gregori said...

will NEVER call Obama President, because he does not represent me or my moral values. The damage that this man can bring upon this nation in four years could take generations to unto, if ever. The American people have really showed their ignorance and brain damaged they have become under our public education system. May God have mercy on us all, because no one else will.

Mark said...

"May God have mercy on us all, because no one else will."

Certainly Obama won't, Father.

Feodor said...

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

As for you guys, I'm pretty sure we will be just fine without you.

Anonymous said...

So much for all that patriotism.

You guys ever consider the idea that the last eight years have been such a disaster that the American experiment with neo-theo-conservatism has been a resounding failure?

Real Americans who love democracy would bow gracefully to the will of the people and give the guy a chance.

Lone Ranger said...

Strap yourselves in, people, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Unlike the hateful little children who call themselves Democrats, I will support whomever is president -- within the limitations of the Constitution. I will also not display the disrespect and hate the other side showed for President Bush. The fact that one of their people captured the White House through dishonorable means does not mean that we should be dishonorable too.

Lone Ranger said...

P.S. If you thought liberals were sore losers, just wait and see what sore winners they are. Prepare for a tsunami of smugness.

Joe said...

mark: I am looking forward to double digit unemployment, double digit inflation, an increas in abortions, the bankruptcy of the coal industry...with many people freezing to death because they can't afford the price of energy to heat their homes, and the redesign of our Constitution.

Yep. We're headed for change.

Al-Ozarka said...

I'm throwing my support behind the president-elect in the same manner as those who elected him supported the current president.

I think he deserves support like that.

Trader Rick said...

i CALLED MY BANK AND THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MY NOT HAVING TO PAY MY MORTGAGE. GUESS THE MEMO HASN'T GONE OUT YET.

AND THE GAS STATION SAID i STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR GAS.

mAYBE IT DOESN'T START UNTIL JANUARY...

Mark said...

"So much for all that patriotism."

Yes, Anon, how silly of me to be patriotic.

And now, the gloating begins.

Gayle said...

Yes, Mark - today's post was also one of the hardest one's I've ever written.

The Lone Ranger is right. We have far more class than some on the left. We know they will attack us with smug and gloating glee, and I won't be publishing those types of comments because if McCain had won I would never go to liberal blogs and do that. I have far too much class for that, and I know you do too!

The Liberal Lie The Conservative Truth said...

I think that you comment about God having mercy on us all says it best! While I disagree with Obama I must recognize the historical significance and what it means in the greatness of our Nation.

I dare anyone to say we are a racist Nation again or try and use race as an excuse because racist Nations do not elect minority leaders and Obama has proven that using race is NO excuse for not succeeding in this country!

Now from a ideological stand point, the fight has just begun and I vow here and now to fight with every ounce of my conservative being to make our government and those who will be leading it hold fast to free and fundamental Constitutional principles.

To remember that we are a Constitutional Republic and want no part of European Socialism. If it means I have to travel to Washington DC and yell it from the streets and the gallery of the House and Senate then I will do what it takes to fight for those principles that have made this country great.

Obama did not win because people believed in his policy because most who voted for him could not tell anyone what it was. He is an unknown who was elected because of hype first and foremost.

Second he was elected because of false blame for a mortgage crises that if it had happened last summer or later this month would have allowed a McCain victory.

Third this is also a referendum on Republicans. When a Dem spends like a drunken sailor, though people do not like it they expect it because that is what they do.

When Republicans spend like a drunken sailor it angers people because they do not expect it from the GOP. This combined with the mortgage debacle created an anger that was shown in the polls yesterday.

Fight we must and fight we will to keep America free!

Anonymous said...

>Yes, Anon, how silly of me to be patriotic.

I didn't say that, you did. But it's silly to call it patriotism if it's only partisanship. Now that the sides have changed again it's going to be interesting to see how they act. Will Democrats be as insulting and petty has Republicans have been for the last four years? Will you have to deal with having your patriotism and even Americanism questioned unceasingly for the next few years? And will you decide that since you didn't like this choice that you should do everything to make it fail. At the expense of the country you say you love. Exactly what you say the Democrats have done. Al-Ozarka has made his choice. He's going to do every stupid and and hateful thing he thinks the Dems have done right back at them. His way of thinking is REALLY anti-American and unpatriotic. It's also a recipe for our failure as a county. It guarantees the lowest common denominator and proves he is no better than his worst fantasies about the other side.

And you can call it gloating but there's gonna be some "your way didn't work" because, well, it's true. At least the majority of Americans seem to think so.

We should all do better.

Anonymous said...

Heh. Heh.

Presumably all you right-wing bloggers will be rounded up & sent to the Gulag come January.

Actually you won't but there will be endless gnashing of teeth and moaning galore as the 'Marxist' blueprint for America is revealed.

Oh well.

Timothy said...

Gloat or not gloat, I hate to say this, but we still have to show Obama the respect of being the President. He is God's choice for our country now. We may not like it, but neither did believers under Nero. We must pray for him. Yes, we can pray that he is ineffective, but we still need God's hand on him.

Just a few thoughts. No, I don't LIKE Obama at all, and I think he is the wrong choice. But I'm not God.

Jim O said...

Look on the bright side: our blogs will be getting better. With a Republican and his veto pen in the White House, a tenuous majority in the Senate, and an election to win, the Democrats have been wearing sheeps' clothing for the last two year, doing little more than railing against "Bush's failed policies." Now they'll actually have to unveil their real agenda in the sunlight, and try get it passed.
We'll have lots to write about!!

Mark said...

"there's gonna be some "your way didn't work" because, well, it's true."

Actually, our way was working until the Dems won the majority in Congress, and then it slowly started unraveling, starting with the collapse of Fannie and Freddie which was caused wholly by Democrat corruption.

Mark said...

"Presumably all you right-wing bloggers will be rounded up & sent to the Gulag come January."

ArthurStone, If you studied the history of Socialism,you would know the first to be sent to the Gulags are the traitors who supported the revolutionaries. The idea is if you will turn on your own country, you will turn on the new system, too. Especially after the truth of Socialism becomes known.

Anonymous said...

Mark, do you think Americans should be allowed to own handguns?

Mark said...

Les, absolutely.

Anonymous said...

But in the wrong hands, they kill people.

Mark said...

So do cars, Les. Do you suggest outlawing cars? How about knives? Chainsaws? Ropes? Baseball bats? Electricity? Rocks? Everything that carries any risk at all?

Lone Ranger said...

In the RIGHT hands, guns kill people. That's what they're designed to do. I carry a gun. I hope I never have to use it, but if my life is threatened, I will. And, I will lay down my life to protect others. Guns revolutionized the world. They gave the common man power over those who would repress them. They were used to gain our freedom from a European monarch. They were used to crush the Nazis and Imperial Japanese. They have changed the world, both for the worse, by those who were motivated by evil and for the good by those who were motivated by the desire to see the world free. Where they have failed is when our leaders did not have the moral or physical courage to see things through to the end. And, they're WAY cool! And let's not forget that thing called the U.S. Constitution.

Anonymous said...

If that's how you feel, Mark and Lone Ranger, then why are you so quick to point the finger at lax lending standards? Shouldn't the blame for the mortgage meltdown lie squarely in the lap of the borrower who defaults on a loan they promised to repay? Just like YOU did, Mark?

It's amazing to me how quickly the cherished "personal responsibility" argument vanishes whenever an opportunity to blame liberalism pops up. Or the desire for "smaller government" - another erstwhile staple of a bygone conservatism.

Anonymous said...

"I am disappointed in the gullibility of the American people."

My thoughts exactly.

BTW, we have some lovely consolation prizes available now.

Mark said...

"Shouldn't the blame for the mortgage meltdown lie squarely in the lap of the borrower who defaults on a loan they promised to repay?"

Yes. If the borrowers knew in advance what they were getting into, and borrowed anyway. But one would think Libs would be outraged over the predatory lending practices of lenders who took advantage of buyer's ignorance and naivete.

I am outraged over the Democrats refusal to admit they helped create the meltdown by forcing the lenders to accept high risk loans in spite of what they knew to be common sense business practices.

Mark said...

Henry, those t-shirts are a product of HPBindustries...Those wouldn't be the initials for Henry P Babcock, would they?

Anonymous said...

Untested? President-elect Obama was tested against the Clinton machine, and won. He was tested against the entire republican machine, and won. His life story is a Horatio Alger story.

McCain was tested, and he came up lacking. If his campaign was any indication of how he would govern, well, it says it all, now doesn't it?

And his war hero record was bogus. He made poor grades and crashed 5 planes (costing millions of taxpayer dollars) while at the Navel Academy. And the last time I checked, getting you and your men shot down and captured, is NOT a military objective.

While a POW, he broke under torture.

Obama is a breath of fresh air. I hope you won't be too disappointed when his presidency turns out well for our great Nation.

Joe said...

I actually saw an interview with a lady who was glad BO was elected because now she would not have to worry about her mortgage payment or buying gas for her car.

And she was serious!

Who are these people and what on earth are they thinking?

Anonymous said...

Your argument makes the assumption that all subprime loans were issued as a result of predatory lending, Mark. As I mentioned several weeks back, nothing could be further from the truth. Borrowers of all credit stripes took out subprime loans, and there were, in fact, still approval criteria that had to be met. Was that criteria lax? Sure it was, but it was still tiered according to a borrower's credit profile.

At the end of the day, a borrower is responsible for the piece of paper they sign. You're almost suggesting the bank/government should do the thinking for the borrower, Mark! How remarkably unconservative of you!

Like with cigarettes - should they be outlawed? According to your logic, people shouldn't be allowed to make the decision of whether or not to purchase them - the government should. See what I'm sayin'?

There's certainly enough blame for lots of people here, but it's dishonest to single out any particular group as the sole culprit. Lenders should have been more responsible. Borrowers (like you) should've studied the terms of their loans better. Government should've noticed the risks involved with Gramm-Leach-Bliley. The list goes on...

Ms.Green said...

Actually, there are a lot of really happy people over Obama's election.

Those Who are Happy Today

Anonymous said...

Mark said: "I am outraged over the Democrats refusal to admit they helped create the meltdown by forcing the lenders to accept high risk loans in spite of what they knew to be common sense business practices."

This is a gross canard (big lie to you). Warren Buffet is a major stockholder of a bank that is the only triple A rated bank in the United States. That bank is a major CRA lender, has met all CRA objectives, and has one of the lowest loss ratios in banking because it understands credit risk and lends accordingly. This bank, like all other banks, was NOT forced to lend to anyone.

Anonymous said...

Yes Mark, hpb©reations is my company, and those are my initials - Henry P. Babcock.

All products are sold at my cost; none of that nasty, capitalist profit. Be sure to tell all your friends!

Mark said...

Hey, Henry. Make a profit! Go for it!

Anonymous said...

If you truly loved your country, you would wish Obama well.

Cameron said...

"While a POW, he broke under torture."

This is one of the most asinine statements I have read on the blogosphere. And that's saying something.

Cameron said...

"Shouldn't the blame for the mortgage meltdown lie squarely in the lap of the borrower"

The blame lies on a quasi government corporation which was the biggest mortgage company on the planet at the time of its failure.

A failure brought about because at the behest of Congress it relaxed its standards to the tune of 3 times as many risky loans from 2005-2007 as it had in its entire history combined.

A failure which spread like wildfire through the rest of the world's banks not only because it was the biggest mortgage company on the planet, but also because since it was backed by the US government it was deemed "safe", and other banks were allowed to concentrate their assets in its stock - a practice not allowed for any other entity.

Anonymous said...

"Hey, Henry. Make a profit! Go for it!"

No worries Mark. My grandmother used to say, "It's a labor of love."

Anonymous said...

"...3 times as many risky loans from 2005-2007..."

And what played a critical role in the jump, you ask? Substantial increases in property values. Appraisers, hoping to capitalize on low rates and high loan demand, were all too eager to earn business by pushing values through the roof in order to create equity that wasn't really there, attracting scores of borrowers who needed to consolidate credit card debt and lower their total outgoing monthly payments in the process. What do you think those borrowers did the second they closed on their new 2 or 3 year ARMs? If you guessed they ran their credit debts right back up again, give yourself a big pat on the back. Now fast forward a couple years to when their ARM rates are set to adjust (say early 2007). Values have already gone up as much as they possibly could, borrowers have once again maxed out their credit cards and killed their debt ratios, which means their new credit profiles coupled with a lack of home equity prevents them from refinancing back into an affordable fixed rate for the long haul. In many cases the only option becomes foreclosure. A vicious cycle that, at its core, is a result of poor discipline on the part of the consumer.