There are only a few times in our lives when we realize our greatest hopes or our worst fears.  Unfortunately, tonight, we realized our worse fears.  The United States can recover from another four years of Barack Obama as President.  We have overcome more difficult things in the past.  But the more serious question is whether we can overcome being stupid enough to re-elect him? 

Obviously, my hope for a Romney victory, perhaps a landslide, was just plain wrong.  It turns out all those questionable political polls got it pretty right.  This was very close, perhaps the closest in history, but Democrats did get their people to the polls and they carried the day.  I did point out that if Democratic turnout was the same in 2012 as it was in 2008 that Barack Obama would win.  I didn’t think they could do that, but they did.  Republicans, on the other hand, did not turn out.  I didn’t predict that either.

All is not lost.  Barack Obama limps into his second term a deeply wounded President.  It is one thing to lose a close election for an open position.  It is quite another to win re-election by the barest of margins.  A lot of Presidents had serious problems during their second term in office.  Ronald Reagan had Iran-Contra.  Bill Clinton had Monica Lewinsky.  George W. Bush had Hurricane Katrina.  History tells us that Barack Obama will have a much more difficult second term than he can imagine.  For one thing the media cover for Obama is likely to dissipate.  They will just move on, because as of tonight, Obama is a lame duck President and he is already yesterday’s news.  The 2016 Presidential election starts tomorrow in both parties. 

 Don’t be shocked if the press starts reporting the truth about Libya and the failures of FEMA with regard to Hurricane Sandy.  Don’t be shocked to see some very serious investigations of Libya.  There may even be bi-partisan support for a select committee to investigate this.  Republicans still control the House and they are more than a little angry.

 Mostly I am saddened and embarrassed.  I can’t believe that a majority of people voted to re-elect Barack Obama.  This should not have been even close.  President Obama is totally unqualified to be President and he has the worst record since Jimmy Carter.  It is disgraceful that the Republican Party could not do better than this.   Barack Obama won re-election by launching a vicious campaign focused on the politics of personal destruction.  Romney responded with a plan.

 Barack Obama won the election but he didn’t repeal the laws of gravity.  His policies haven’t worked in the past and they probably won’t work in the future.  He has never shown a hint of leadership ability before so we shouldn’t expect to see it now.  Remember that it is always darkest just before dawn.  I doubt that any of us were really enthusiastic about a Romney Presidency.  We just thought that anything would be an improvement over Obama.  Mitt Romney was a far cry from the fundamental change we need.

Perhaps, just perhaps, re-electing Obama was a necessary step in bringing about the fundamental change that is desperatedly needed.  Our government has been addicted to spending for a long time.  Addicts rarely change until they finally hit rock bottom. 

President Obama got his four more years and he now owns this mess.  Unless he changes course or his policies start working miracles those people celebrating today may become an angry mob tomorrow.   We will not be the first country to learn this lesson the hard way. 

TDM