E Pluribus Unum

I congratulate Barack Obama and I wish him well as he prepares to assume his role as our 44th President. I truly do wish him well. I will be praying for his success and safety as he undertakes the toughest, and what's been described as the loneliest job in the world. I hope all American conservatives will join me in doing the same.

It was indeed an historic election for African-Americans. Obama made history. Obama is history. But for me, the election was never about race -- it was about character and all that character entails -- judgements, choices, associations; things that serve to form core values and beliefs that make us who and what we are.

Last night was a bad night for conservatives. While it wasn't the blow-out the Dems were hoping for, it was certainly bad enough to be felt painfully by all of us on the conservative side. Obama won soundly but his coattails weren't as long as the Dems had hoped. It doesn't pay to misbehave too badly when you're the controlling party -- just ask the Repubs.

As much as he would like to convince us otherwise, Obama is no centrist. His voting record is proof, and it would be a mistake for him to give in to the far left of his party, Pelosi, Reid, et al, and unleash an ideological and vengeful congress on the American people. Such a thing would not be wise. There is another election in two years -- there always is -- and it's said that an elephant never forgets -- especially GOP elephants who know all too well that it's more difficult to build the barn than to knock it down.

While most presidential elections culminate with calls for national unity, Barack Obama issued no such call in his acceptance speech last night, with the possible exception of this: "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too."

He was speaking to me. I heard his words. I did not, however, hear his heart, and that is what I most wanted to hear. Does this man's heart hold a genuine love for this great country that so many Americans have bled and died to preserve and defend? Or is he merely seeking power and self-aggrandizement? Knowing where a man’s heart is based is monumentally more important than hearing him deliver rafter-reaching speeches or moving huge crowds to tears. Mr. President-Elect, show me your heart for this country that I love so much.

On this, the morning after, we conservatives know that the President-Elect is a socialist with deep ties to cultural and ethnocentric radicalism. We also know that Barack Hussein Obama’s executive and legislative agendas pose a greater threat to our American way of life than those of any president in the history of our great republic. These are the facts and we cannot escape what we know to be true. We will be watchful and we will be wary. We will also be hopeful that Obama, once fully briefed on the secret things that only presidents know, will moderate his course and take the centrist road. Reality checks can bring forth that sort of change.

I am a flag waving American and I love my country. I desperately want to support my president but I can only do that if he governs fairly from a centrist position. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he settles into the job and learns the ropes, but I cannot and I will not support the hard leftist position of socialism.

Nikki

Note: America has long held to three little words that carry monumental meaning for the life and liberty of every American -- E Pluribus Unum. Thanks to Michael Ramirez's clever insight in the above cartoon.

Edited 11-5-08 @ 9.49 PM to add: The stock market dropped 500 points the day following Obama's presidential victory. It was the worst post-election day drop in history. No further comment necessary.