Obama wins re-election!

I'm ecstatic. I have renewed faith in America. Last night was spectacular. Not only did the expected Obama win put a dip in the hip, but Democrats won the Senate. If you are a friend who follows my tweets, last night and this morning my behavior was shameful.

Or was it?

I freely admit that my juvenile gloating was insensitive, boorish, and crude. But I cannot help but feel this is how conservatives in America have been treating President Obama. I felt it was a mirror reflection of conservative behavior.

The conservatives consistently band together on all sorts of ridiculous issues. It's fall in line. Well, conservatives did fall in line, and all fell down. Am I happy about this? Yes.

Democrats have adjusted to the changes in the US. Republicans have not. As I've mentioned before, there is no going back. For all the hopeful Mitt Romney supporters, yesterday was somewhat of a rude awakening. I just made it ruder. In essence, I'm looking out for the conservative platform by pointing out how foolish the mishmash of social and fiscal policies have been. Many well respected publications have endorsed Obama, including the FT and the Economist, but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Well, even if you were/are deaf, you probably know that Obama has been re-elected. Deal with it. He's a good man. He's not a socialist (far from it), he's not Muslim (he's likely an atheist, honestly), he's not running a corrupt administration (far from it, no scandals, and Benghazi doesn't count). So what's not to like about Obama if you're conservative? Easy. He's not like you.

The problem is, many Americans don't realize how far the country has moved. It really isn't in this old, tired "left/right" paradigm. It's something more. It's trite to say America has moved "forward." It does that everyday regardless of who is President.

The rage amuses me. The end of America. The destruction of Israel. Will this nonsense ever stop? No. It never does. It just morphs and changes into some other unfounded fear. That's the crux of it. Fear. It's a different America. It's been that way since 2008. Wake up. Embrace it. If you care, chip in.

Taxes will go up. This is a fact. I've dealt with it, but think the nation overall will be healthier. Besides, I understand that I've benefited from Bush polices and Obama policies. So I'm okay giving back. Yes, even to the red states. (Not ecstatic about this, but you are part of America, and I work for you.)
There is a plethora of amusing tweets from the conservatives about not paying taxes, moving to Canada, etc. Great. Do it. It's a free country, until you break the rules. Don't break the rules. Calm down. Regroup. And reflect.

GOP of America, you can be great. Ditch the social baggage. America has told you to do this. Under no uncertain circumstances. Focus on fiscal policies. Make fiscal policies for ALL of America, just not your beloved aging, white, Christian, male population. You'll get broader support.

Once again, I'm thrilled at what happened last night. Celebrate with me!

VP Debate

I think I have my thoughts sorted out on the VP debate a day later. As this would indicate, I am conflicted with what went down.

In many ways, the outcome was desirable, in many ways, to both Biden and Ryan. It's all game theory of human behavior. Both participants are highly rational and highly informed.

Biden
Biden did bully Ryan, but this was to be expected. He leveraged his seniority into a patronizing, and at times, sneering tone. While there is a part of me that appreciates this due to rampant GOP mendacity, I wish stylistically Biden took a higher road. He played the "fed up" with the BS role. And it is easy to do with a younger opponent such as Ryan.

In the end, I have a soft spot for Biden that is non-partisan. I enjoy his gaffes. He really does embody the goofy uncle with a heart of gold. While one should take anything a politician takes with a grain of salt, I trust Biden over a large swath of national politicians. Did you know he was one of the "poorest" US Senators? Usually not a mark of a dirty dealer, right? Cough cough... Darryl Issa.

Ryan
Ryan did only what he could do. He was respectful, calm, and polite. He was forceful, appearing sincere at times. But he isn't. He's a liar. This is largely irrelevant, as we've seen from the first Presidential debate this year. I did laugh at Ryan's canned zinger about words coming out of Biden's mouth that Biden didn't mean. But it was funny for 2 seconds, as it was clearly planned.

Ryan did what was best for Ryan - which was to appear as a rising star, and potential rising star as Presidential candidate for the Republican party in the future. He really wants nothing else. If he becomes VP, great, but I don't think he is playing his cards assuming it will happen. Ryan, lies notwithstanding, has a prominent role to play in our fact-free society. I'm still waiting for high level numbers on how he plans to balance the budget. (He made them up -- we all know that.)

Facts vs. Fabrication
Lying is almost irrelevant at this point in the election cycle. All style very little substance.

Spectators of the US VP debate are going to have a hard time discerning fact from fiction. With so many facts thrown so quickly to viewers, many don't know what to believe. Facts seem to have an increasingly water-like quality. Hard when you want them to be, soft, or gas.

I wish there were more "fact checking" services, and then and aggregator of these fact checkers that normalizes it. Sort of a Real Clear Politics for facts instead of polls. (Hey, this is an idea... anyone?)

As I'm finishing this Saturday morning, it's clear that the VP debate has become history, and won't be remembered for anything other than Biden's wide grins and barreling over Ryan, and Ryan holding his composure.

Whatever happens, let's hope it is best for the world. I happen to think it is Obama/Biden. But I am one voice out of many.

Quick thoughts on last night's first Presidential debate:

• Romney "won" this debate
• The goal of a debate is to win support, not present the most truthful facts
• This win may re-energize supporters and donations - this is important
• Obama presented poorly
• He should not have made the variety of facial expressions.
• A preferable way would be to keep narrow eyes, focus on camera or Romney, and seem engaged, even if polite
• The facts don't matter on this debate.
• Romney lied and backflipped a lot. So what? Who cares? Only pundits.
• Obama was probably bewildered at the stuff Romney was saying. Who wouldn't be? My head was spinning.