This much I know:  The departure, at noon Tuesday, of the current occupant is a good thing for this country.  Eight years of this administration is…eight years too many.  Regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on, there is nothing that suggests, short or long-term, that W’s tenure was anything but an utter disaster for all concerned.  (And we are ALL concerned)

I look, mostly from conservative pundits, for any concrete evidence of success on any front these past eight years.  If there’s any legitimate place for them to hang their (ten-gallon cowboy) hats, it is the fact that there has not been another terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11.  We don’t know why, but I’ll give one point to Homeland Security.

However, when you analyze the past eight years, you see the biggest increase in the size of government (and it’s attendant intrusiveness) in the history of this republic.  Is this a conservative value?  When did torture and judicial interference and the selling out of CIA agents become conservative values?  I find it hard to believe that so many Republicans will consistently vote against their own self-interest and allow the oil barons to continue to reap the benefits of our (increasingly) hard work.  There is a long, well-documented list that should convince every single true conservative that this administration did nothing, NOTHING to further their cause.

On the other side of the aisle, there seem to be an infinite amount of reasons for liberals to celebrate the departure of W, the Connecticut-born Yale-educated recovering alcoholic who undid 200+ years of amazing achievement in democracy in a remarkably short ninety-six short months.  He didn’t do it alone; he certainly has help from an amazingly inept cabal of egoists, enabled all the way by members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum.  Their legacy is…stark.

I choose neither side, I am a centrist, I always have been.  I seek, on all levels of government, those who will try to find common ground and consensus and who will do what they believe is best for their constituents.  I see little gleams of hope in some of our local politicians, I see NONE in those who ascend to higher office.  I have always maintained that once you get past our local representatives, select boards, trustees and the like, you have to sell your soul to the devil to be elected to public office.  That is my ongoing nod to cynicism in these dark times.

I watched many of the events that took place Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial.  It is good that our President-elect understands the power of symbolism and that he brings passion to the table and that he energized so many people, especially the young.  It is also good, as I’ve mentioned previously, that we actually elected a smart man.  A brilliant man.  A man who understands that every word, every gesture, every nod will be analyzed over and over and over.  He seems to be inheriting the most difficult job in the history of this world.  I can only wish him the best, heed his words and act accordingly, and pray for him, his family and the success of those things that need to be done to pull us away from the abyss.  I am also happy that he has already managed to piss off gobs of people on boths sides.  It tends to support my hope that he will look for the center, trying to reach consensus.  This crisis is mostly psychological (like everything else in life) and what we need most from Barack Obama right now is reassurance and confidence.

BUT…what needs to be done?  We are in uncharted territory.  Government has proven itself incapable, to date, of dealing with this mess.  Where the hell is the $350 billion that we already gave to the banks??  Did they take the money, go to the Cayman Islands and have a $400 billion dollar party?  Why weren’t WE invited?  Why can’t friends of ours, desperate for an infusion of cash, go to the bank and receive enough funding to save ten, twenty, thirty jobs?  Why can’t we slow the astronomical costs of health care?  We are still the richest nation on Earth.  Why can’t we provide good universal health care, the way that…FINLAND does??  Doesn’t it make economic sense as well???

I can’t answer these questions, and that’s understandable.  But when did those who label themselves .economists. fall lower on the trust scale than used car salesman?  They obviously know…NOTHING.

The sense of change since November 4th is palpable.  Tuesday at noon, when this great nation has another orderly transition of power, I will celebrate the departure of those who have done their evil worst, knowingly or unwittingly, and who will never be held accountable.  And I will join  the rest of the world in hoping and praying that this country will once again find its moral compass and true vision on the shoulders of a remarkable African American man.

My five cents,

SN