Sunday, November 11, 2012

closing the election season chapter and looking forward

While I'm gratified by the result of the presidential election, I can't help being horrified that it was as close as it was. I mean, REALLY! Romney and Ryan in the White House? Even if you assume that most of their rhetoric was only that, designed to keep habitual GOP voters from bolting or sitting this one out, it was still a scary prospect. ‘Let's further entrench the idiotic policies that got us into this economic mess in the first place.’ This was the choice offered in place of Obama, the most upright, clear-thinking, and strong-willed President we've had since John Kennedy, perhaps longer, and yet the popular vote was as close as it was. I have to wonder what the outcome would have been if Jesus Christ had been running instead of Obama; would Romney have won? What a lot of work we have ahead of us, untangling the confusion of our brethren and their children.

Looking forward, I'm anticipating a lot of the same, which is to say moderate progress despite the noncooperation of the Republican dominated House of Representatives. With the government thus hamstrung, the main source of progress for the next two years, until the next congressional election, will be the backlog of unexploited applications enabled by recent advancements in technology, and the renewed entrepreneurial spirit that is everywhere in evidence, with its intense focus on providing practical solutions to real problems and making stuff that enhances people's lives – as opposed to get-rich-quick schemes built around financial instruments of dubious value, which were all the rage during the previous administration.

Obama can be counted upon to get the government behind this new economy as much as can be accomplished through the power of his office and through his personal influence, but for the most part it's up to us.

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