I think that you are right on. I agree with many of your points. I believe that Obama is a good president. However i believe that to do good you have to push through and prove. I think America needs to re think how the media is shaping how we percieve what is true or not true. Let history prove how good will be shaped and its the common good to Americans that Lincoln, Adams and Jefferson, Douglas MacArthur, Martin Lurther king who really wanted good for their country. Lets see if the media can do the real good to show they are doing all the right things to strengthen our country.

You people who are claiming this have not built your case according to strong standards. The media is the media – unpredictable and opportunistic as often as it can. The reporters are liberals, the owners, board members and media moguls are conservatives. You have not shifted the onus, and since your claim lacks substance there is nothing to dispute.

“Perhaps the only thing worse would be lurching back to monopoly rule by the Dems.”

I have seen anlayses that suggest that an economy benefits the most by an all-blue government. Anyway, there are few republicans who deserve any attention when raising worries about an all-blue government.

“On the contrary, desegregation was forced by the courts and the result was a disaster.”

Well, you can’t destroy evil organically. Realpolitik and pragmatism must not have any say when we destroy the social and political discrimination of same-sex couples. Adoptions, inseminations and civil partnership for all stable and investigated same-sex couples. Today. Either make a decent case for any opinion to the contrary or get out of my way – I don’t have to slow down when I destroy the evil status quo we have now.

“I’ll say that IMO marriage is a religious ceremony and in the U.S. should be defined according to traditional Judeo-Christian standards.”

I have no problem with that. But civil partnership with all economic benefits for all couples is undebatable.

I perfectly agree with the desire to see rich people handling less of the costs. Everything must be balanced out and costs need to be curtailed to begin with. The thing is that according to The Economist’s survey a significant majority of economists are behind Obama’s economic plan. I dunno, I’m just not feeling that there are many right-wingers who can sound genuine and sound when “desperately” trying to prevent an all-blue government. I for one, don’t really want one – Obama deserves eight years and he won’t have a chance to make the sort of paradigm-shift Reagan made unless he does things at a restricted pace.

With regard to your earlier comment about my 4 options for funding Project X, The American magazine says that the top quarter of Americans pay 85% of the taxes.  That sounds like my option 4 to me.

“I think that economic redistribution isn’t intrinsically bad…”

I disagree, as you might suspect, although I’m not completely rabid about it.  IMO, option 3 – a flat tax – would be vastly more fair while still providing some wealth redistribution because the well-to-do would still pay significantly higher taxes than the lower income bracket.

As for the gay marriage issue, it’s a bit off-topic, but I’ll say that IMO marriage is a religious ceremony and in the U.S. should be defined according to traditional Judeo-Christian standards.

Now, if we’re talking about health insurance coverage, life insurance benefits, survivor rights, etc., I agree that the nature of the relationship should not be relevant.

BTW, “rightist” is fine with me; it’s certainly partly right.  I’d self-describe as a conservative/libertarian hybrid.

“We are well off.  We give to charities.  I don’t support a welfare state, I want people out of shelters, and into jobs and homes.  How to the conservatives propose we do this?”

I’m glad you’ve been blessed and chosen to use your good fortune to benefit others.  That shows great character on the part of your family.  I try to do the same through my church and volunteer work there.

But the point is that the purpose of government is not to use its power to force people like us to give of ourselves to those who can’t or won’t care for themselves.  To do so out of love is charity, to be forced is to have been robbed.

That’s the fundamental problem with redistribution of wealth – it’s naked force resulting in the loss of money and/or property.  If you think it’s not, try not paying your taxes and see what happens.  It’s simply not justified in a democratic society.

What’s so powerful about Joe the Plumber is that a guy who makes very average money understands the right way for a government to operate better than the man who will be president.  That’s called standing for a principle, even at one’s own detriment.

“I am calling you a liar on this, because you don’t bother to shift the onus. The subjective opinion…”

Referring to my claim that the media has thrown down in favor of Obama, right?  I don’t think that’s disputable.  Calling me a liar doesn’t change what’s happening in the media.  Have you forgotten the Democratic primaries already?

“Now all of a sudden that would be bad, says Bachmann. How very noble of her to decide that the checks and balances shouldn’t all be in the hands of one party.”

I think we’ve all seen what a train wreck the Republicans have been.  Perhaps the only thing worse would be lurching back to monopoly rule by the Dems.  Newt Gingrich, et al, came to power because Americans despised the Clintons’ early, pre-moderate policies.  Then there’s the glory of the all-Democratic, all-the-time Carter years.  But I guess we’ve collectively forgotten about that.

“Also, you can’t force policies or social agendas (Like quotas and hate crime legislation and civil unions for the gays and scary stuff like that) democratically.”

Given that we’re talking about a democratic society, perhaps these agenda items should not be brought to fruition if they don’t have sufficient popular support.  Women’s right to vote was a struggle but passed through the democratic process into law more-or-less organically.  On the contrary, desegregation was forced by the courts and the result was a disaster.

I think that economic redistribution isn’t intrinsically bad, it’s just that many on the left fail to commit themselves fully to ensuring that all social expenditures are cost-effective, good for the nation and most of all justified according to bipartisan and reasonable parameters. Just like those on the left don’t want their tax money spent on a poorly handled war that was supposed to pay for itself, the right shouldn’t have to accept the “trust us” argument from the left. Of course, those on the right (or “rightists”, if that is the lingo Marc Moore endorses) who used the “trust us” argument regarding the Iraq war debacle can’t really complain about people on the left following suit until they come clean about their own excesses, but this goes for the left as well.

I recognize that the Great Society program was poorly handled, partisan, ideological, detached from reality, costly, counter-effective and in essence a pretty bad trip, and I perfectly understand the swing to Reagan that followed. I guess the democrats never fully recuperated from their massive victory in 1964. I do hope Obama can do a lot to reel in the DNC on certain pet peeves and obsessions while still being unapologetically liberal and partisan when it comes to issues the GOP have put a stall on for too long, like forcing all states to recognize civic partnership for all loving couples, no matter what the bible says.

I am not for a “Robin Hood” government.

By the definition of the word Senator Obama is NOT a SOCIALIST, and God I am so sick of the GOP using the the “distribution of wealth” as a scare tactic.

You say: “In fact, liberalism is the political ideology that creates class warfare as part of its very definition.”  How?  Like I said, I must be naive.  My husband works in the Hedge fund industry.  We are well off.  We give to charities.  I don’t support a welfare state, I want people out of shelters, and into jobs and homes.  How to the conservatives propose we do this?  We let the horses of prosperity out the barn, how do we fix it?  Tell me?

In my opinion it is the neo-con Right , with it’s message of fear and hate of anything different that has created this HUGE divide in America right now, not the left.   And Senator Bachmann just displayed a HUGE example of how.   I supported McCain in 2000.   I actually voted this year in the Republican primary.  I thought him a good centrist candidate.  But he pandered and sold out to extremists in a bid to get elected.  Obama is now my only hope for change, and it appears much of America agrees.