In January 2001 George W. Bush was elevated to the presidency after a disputed election decided by the Supreme Court. He was handed a country at peace, with a military that was strong and ready for the possible conflicts we might face. Oil sold at $23 a barrel, and our economy was growing at more than 3 percent annually.
The dollar was strong and recognized as the soundest currency in the world. The national debt was less than $6 trillion, and the federal government was running a large budgetary surplus.
Granted, September 11, 2001, was a terrible shock to the nation that required a strong response, one that Bush at first seemed capable of leading. The nations of the world were, for the most part, on our side. America was united in our resolve to confront this new enemy.
Fairly quickly, many of us realized that Bush was in way over his head. The shallow "Decider" from Texas, driven by a desire to best his daddy and constrained by conservative ideology, started making terrible mistakes - mistakes that others have suffered for.
What a difference those eight years of ideological incompetence makes! It didn't take Bush/Cheney long to throw away the goodwill of the world and embark on a course of failure piled on failure piled on failure, aided and abetted by a compliant Republican-led Congress and an impotent Democratic congressional minority. Consequently, the next president will inherit a colossal mess.
The war in Afghanistan is unfinished and becoming ever more difficult. A war that should never have been started in Iraq is draining $10 billion a month of American treasure and has taken far too many American lives. Our military is stretched to the breaking point, yet is still asked to give more. America has lost the respect of allies and adversaries alike.
Oil has temporarily fallen from the stratospheric height of $150 a barrel it reached earlier, but that is surely temporary. The dollar is worth far less on the global market than it was several years ago. Unemployment is rising and will continue to do so. The budget deficit may even reach $1 trillion in 2009. The national debt is now at $10 trillion, and cowboy capitalism has created a global economic recession that threatens stability in many nations.
It wasn't the The United States, the "leader of the free world," that first responded to the growing economic meltdown. It was the leadership in Britain, in France, in Germany. The Bush administration followed Europe's lead in confronting the crisis, in part because "free-market" ideology meant they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the point where the government bought partial ownership in banks - that dreaded "socialism" that McBush/ Palin rant against - even while McCain voted for the bailout of Wall Street and Sarah Palin bragged about how Alaska collectively owns its oil resources and benefits from that.
If the Lord is good to the United States and Barack Obama is elected and sworn in as the 44th president, he will face the most difficult set of problems of any president since Franklin Roosevelt. Two wars remain to be honorably concluded. Our foreign policy will have to be completely rebuilt, as will our military. This economic downturn has the potential to be horrendous.
Fortunately, Alan Greenspan is no longer heading the Federal Reserve. Instead, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke may prove essential to the next president because of his knowledge of the mistakes the Hoover administration made at the start of the Great Depression.
As an academic in the early 1980s, Bernanke pioneered the idea that the financial markets, rather than being neutral players in business cycles, could significantly amplify booms and busts. That's why he moved so quickly and decisively to deal with the credit crunch. Believe me, Greenspan would have sat on his Ayn-Rand hands and waited for the market to "correct itself."
In foreign policy Obama will be well served by his wise choice of Joe Biden for vice president. Also, he will have the advice of foreign policy experts both left and right, and he is the kind of man who can calmly listen to those who disagree with him and take their views into account before acting.
I also have no doubt that for the first time in eight years, people picked to head federal agencies will have at least some expertise. Perhaps lobbyists won't be writing major pieces of legislation for Congress, either. The head of FEMA won't be some college pal who once headed a horse association. The person vetting employees for the Justice Department won't be a young Regent University graduate who chooses people on the basis of their right-wing beliefs and their being "born again."
Now if you need any more convincing about the need to keep working for an Obama/Biden victory on November 4...
Just imagine McCain and his "maverick" sidekick from Alaska, along with the "first dude," in charge of the executive branch. Imagine McCain picking Phil Gramm to be secretary of the treasury. Can you see Joe Lieberman as secretary of state?
Picture McCain's tantrums if anyone tries to buck his orders. Imagine the Palin-McCain hatred for one another that will surely fester and grow as she gets ever more ambitious about a presidential run in 2012.
Think of listening to Palin being interviewed on Sunday news shows...
That should be enough for each of us to stay focused, to keep our eye on the prize, and to work right up to Election Day to do all we can to make Barack Obama the next President of the United States. The alternative is just to much of a Halloween nightmare to think about...