So, I come home today after work and what do I find waiting for me in the mail? The latest issue of The National Review. And what does the cover look like? Like this:

Talk about adding insult to injury. After last night's election, the last thing I needed to see was the Gipper with his face defiled.

I haven't read a page of the new issue yet, but I expect the same smart, informative, insightful and entertaining reading as every other issue.

But, anyway, we gotta talk about last night eventually ...

So it turns out that I missed my guess. I thought we'd lose the House and keep the Senate, but we've basically lost both. George Allen hasn't done the right thing yet and conceded, but I'm sure he will. I hope he will. We all know he lost, we all know that he lost because he ran a terrible campaign, and we need to get it behind us and move on.

Personally, I've gone from being a big George Allen fan to being a disillusioned former Allen supporter. He ran a shoddy campaign by failing to focus on the issues and he let conservatives down in Virginia. I'm sure he'd have gotten reelected if he'd simply run ads telling people why they needed to vote for him. Instead, he seems to have counted on a big turnout for the Virginia state marriage amendment (it passed) and it seems that Allen thought that people who support traditional marriage would vote for him by default. He was wrong. He was also wrong to run ads that attacked Jim Webb personally instead of focusing on his own sterling record as a Senator. He was wrong and now we're going to pay for his mistakes.

And, to think, I really thought the guy would be the next president.

Nonetheless, I do see this as a victory for conservatives, in a way. The Democrats had to run centrists (or moderates, or whatever you want to call them) to pick up key seats in the House and Senate, which means that they realize that they can't get leftists elected. Heck, maybe this is the beginning of the end of leftist extremism.

And, if not, that's good too. Even if these new "moderate" Democrats get to DC and get sucked under by DC's politically and culturally liberal undertow, that's bound to help real conservatives in the long run. Two years from now, the people who voted for these "moderate" Democrats will be saying "Now, wait just a damn minute … that's not the kind of governing we sent so-and-so to Congress for!"

So, do us a favor, Democrats. Show us your true colors. That's going to help guarantee a Republican victory in the '08 Presidential race.

Now, how does the current President keep the GOP in the White House in '08? Here's the opinion of one more fat ol' redneck from Virginia:

• Victory In Iraq. Get enough ground forces into Iraq to make a huge dent in the assorted and sundry sectarian groups who're all at war with the new Iraqi government. We should have had more troops there to begin with. Dubya needs to try to give us an Iraq that looks at least reasonably hopeful by the summer of '08. Maybe Rumsfeld's replacement will make a difference in that area.



• Stop Spending Money Like A Crackhead. That's gonna be tough because Bush 43 has been spending money like crazy even with a Republican controlled Congress. You know the Democrats will want to spend more. Veto the heck out of everything that you can to keep spending down … and don't let them jack our taxes if at all possible.



• Communicate. I can't stress that enough. Maybe Dubya is mic shy because he's such a cruddy public speaker. Nonetheless, we need to hear from him as often as possible. We need updates at least weekly, from the President, on Iraq and the war against terrorism.



• No more Dubai-Type Scandals. Learn that lesson. Remember it. Don't BS us again.

In closing, here's the biggest laugh I've had all day, the Top Ten Positive Outcomes of the Election, courtesy of Scrappleface, and complete with my comments:

10. New York Times and CNN will carry much less negative news about Congress.

Expect a puff piece on the Nasty Pelosi any day now.

9. Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee lost and Connecticut Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman won, a net gain of two for the GOP.

Maybe not a gain, but not a slip backwards, either.

8. We may finally get to see the Democrat plan for victory in Iraq.

Oh, yes. I understand that they're going to employ a dragon against the roving gangs in Iraq! A magic dragon from a land called Honnahleigh!

7. Taxpayers will be relieved of the burden of making so many investment decisions.

I don't know about you, but I was really feeling guilty about being able to buy toys for the kids this Christmas. Why should I spend that money on my own children when I can let Nancy spend it on studies to save Spotted Swamp Newts?

6. Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is now available for Supreme Court appointment.

Seriously, I love the sound of that. It'll never happen, of course, but doesn't it sound awesome?

5. Possible reduction in attacks on our troops in Iraq, since terrorists fear attorneys.

There's a difference between terrorists and attorneys?

4. NSA agents could soon be freed from having to listen to annoying terrorist chatter.

And, besides, those terrorists have rights, too!

3. Lynn Swann will be remembered as a great wide receiver during the Pittsburgh Steelers 1970s dynasty.

Oh, I dunno … from the numbers, it looks like Swann really "received" something last night, too. ;) Thank you, Allentown, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

2. Since a lot of the polling places are in church buildings, millions of Democrats actually went to church yesterday.

The real shock is that they didn't burst into flames, reducing themselves to pillars of ash as soon as they crossed the threshold.

1. C-Span could get a ratings boost for new reality show: Impeachment 2007.

Ooooooh! I bet Chief Justice Roberts wears a robe with sixteen yellow stripes! That's 75% more stripes than on Rehnquist's robe!



Cheer up, you guys. Lets take our lumps and come back ready to whoop ass in '08.

Labels: News, Politics