Don't Panic...Not Just Yet

As I've been do some web- and blogsurfing, I've been noticing that more and more liberal and Democratic-leaning people are worried about two things concerning Barack Obama:

1. If Barack Obama becomes president, something terrible well happen (like, "he'll get shot," or, "racist white people will revolt").
2. Republicans have given up on John McCain, and plan on piling on a shitload of problems (the economy, war, health care, etc) for an Obama Administration to deal with.

On the First Worry: with the possible exception of George Washington, every president has been the target of assassination. Some because they were hated publicly, others because they were the target of some very disturbed individuals. John McCain or Barack Obama would be no exception. Also, as much as some sociology and African-American professors want it to be, Obama's candidacy is not solely about the plight of black people. Racial tensions may still exist in this country, but the fact that Obama has made it this far speaks volumes. And besides, few people remember that back before the 2000 Elections, some of these same racists people are so worried about were practically begging Colin Powell to run on the GOP ticket (yes, mostly out of Clinton-hate, but there it is).

On Worry #2: This wouldn't be the first time a party that lost the White House left the country in shambles so the other party would look ineffectual. When Bill Clinton came in after the 1992 Elections, the GOP-controlled Congress had the nerve to tell him to balance the budget (where the hell were these guys during the Reagan and Bush 41 years?). Newt Gingrich rode into Washington with an army of neo-conservatives and the "Contract of America" (which was basically the result of Republicans surveying Americans about what they wanted from Government, then packaging those responses in a neo-conservative wrapper) with the promise of making Washington better; all America got was intense partisanship, impeachment, a wrecked economy and a health care system on it's way to Hell. Then, after 2006, the Democrats won back the (slim) majority and every word you hear from the Republicans is "The Dems aren't doing anything!" or "Look at their record! Look at their Approval Rating!" This from a party who used to shun polls (and still do when it's not in their favor).

So is Obama's run for the White House historic? Yes; and so was Nelson Mandela's. I don't remember South Africa dissolving into chaos after his election.

Is President Bush prepared to dump all of his problems on the next president? Most likely. But it's just as likely that he wants McCain in office because there's a good chance that an Obama/Biden Administration will investigate every sleazy, questionable thing that Bush has done over the last eight years. So if I were to compare "going to jail" to "making the Democrats look bad politically," I'd say that anything Bush is "leaving" to the next Administration is being done simply because he doesn't want it to further tarnish his own legacy.