Winning the White House isn't the hard part

[cali]

nor is increasing our margins in the House and Senate. I'm pretty confident both will happen in November.

The hard part is trying to repair the massive damage done to this country by bushco over the last 7+ years.

To me it seems an almost impossible task. They've crippled our economy, destroyed our credibility abroad, embroiled us in an illegal war, and put off dealing with such urgent issues as Climate change. It's axiomatic that it's much harder to build than to destroy, and bushco's done an enormous amoount of destroying.

I just don't know if it's possible to "fix" things.

[tekisui]

1. The lag time for consequences will make for a VERY hard next 4 years.

We are just now feeling the effects of the Iraq War Recession.

[Virginia Dare]

2. Agreed.

There are going to be some hard truths that will have to be faced. I hope we're up to it.

Hi Cali!

:hi:

[ColbertWatcher]

3. First we have to have a list of all the crap the GOP has done...

...then we split into teams to fix the messes we can.

It will be a team effort.

[wake.up.america]

5. One of the most important posts. It should be declared openly and frankly...

what needs to be fixed.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Shall we make a new thread? n/t

[butterfly77]

11. We should be spreading the list now...

so that more people are REALLY aware of what has been going on in the past eight years...

[izquierdista]

13. A good start

What do you call a Republican fund raising cruise that gets shipwrecked on a desert island?

Seriously, to fix some of the mess they have created, clever ways will be needed to finesse them, as taking them on directly will just run into their well placed obstacles.

Instead of challenging the Republican supported health insurance lobby, Medicare and the VA should be quietly expanded until most citizens are covered by public insurance (Medicare), or cared for at government medical facilities (the VA).

Instead of challenging the oil companies that own the Republicans, the Department of Agriculture should quietly expand programs supporting switchgrass for biofuel, biodiesel from algae, and biomass to replace coal and natural gas.

Instead of getting into a contest to see who can "support the troops" the most, Democrats should quietly remove the funds for military contractors. Not one more penny to be spent on KBR, Halliburton and other mercenaries.

Elephants are massive and fearsome creatures to face head on, but they have poor eyesight and it is possible to slip a lot past them.

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Well put. n/t

[MiniMe]

4. Thats why I think that the next President, whoever it may be, will be a 1-term President

ala Jimmy Carter. Its going to take years to fix this mess, and I don't think people will be patient.

[nancyr]

6. That's the truth.

[lapfog_1]

8. Fortunately, President Obama is a constitutional scholar

and, I believe, has a deep reverence and understanding of our constitution and all of the amendments.

That is a whole lot better than some pinhead, flag-pin-in-the-lapel, hand-over-heart-on-all-occasions, ignorant dumbfuck, my-way-or-the-highway, neocon, wanna-be dictator.

So, yeah, I expect him (far more than Clinton would have) to move adroitly to restore the constitution and rule of law.

After that, the harder thing is going to be repairing our economy, our energy policies, our environment, and our health care. He is going to need a lot of help.

[NC_Nurse]

9. I agree. This country is in a terrible mess thanks to Bushco.

It will take a long time and some actual sacrifice to rehab. It's hard to say whether the general public has the patience and
the fortitude to endure some belt-tightening. It's hard to imagine these days the type of pulling together that was done for WWII
and other crises back in the day. I hope it will happen. I think it's going to be VERY important to outline the problems early on and to make
sure that the blame is placed solidly where it belongs - on the Repubs and their LOONY ideas about the economy and foreign relations.

[elizfeelinggreat]

10. First fix the media?

I think everything else would start to fall into place if we could air some truth.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. LIST THREAD!

Okay, I started a separate thread to post the individual messes that need fixing, here.

[Fumesucker]

15. It ain't all the Republicans

Most of the really damaging crap the Dems went along with too..

[stray cat]

16. I don't take any election for granted - look at 2000 and 2004

The damage to the country is the hard part but the election is a required first part.

[lonestarnot]

17. Well knowing it is not and not trying are two different things.

[Blue_Roses]

18. It's possible but it isn't going to happen overnight.

With an Obama presidency, I feel very hopeful, but cautious, knowing that people are going to be expecting change overnight and that's just not possible. I know Obama has the grace and wisdom to work with republicans across the aisle and I see things very positive. It's the "getting there" that is a headache more so. Have faith. The American people are smart and resilient --and their effing tired of Bush. We can do this!
:bounce: