Be Careful What You Wish For

It's only been three days since the election and fireworks are popping on all fronts. The Democrats are euphoric, the Republicans angry, McCain and Palin camps are fighting, and the stock market returned to it's inevitable downward spiral.

I've had the opportunity the last few days to visit with members of both teams. The Democrats are just plain giddy over the "butt spanking" that they successfully delivered. After a close Gore loss and a Kerry defeat, it appears that there was some pent up frustration. My Republican friends are very angry and have declared an end to the world. Some have even defined the moment as biblical prophecy. I had the great pleasure to golf with my favorite registered Republican this week and his four favorite words were: Stalinist, Marxist, Socialist, and U.S.S.A.

It's amazing in only three days to see the "blame game" commence on all fronts. The Democrats are saying "you see I told you that the country wanted change". The McCain camp is firing shots at Sarah Palin. This one shocked me. Palin appeared to give it her best shot. She started the process off dealing with the fact that the whole world knew that her teenage daughter had just become pregnant. She weathered some bad interviews and most of all the brutal depiction on SNL. Great fun unless it's you. My favorite registered Republican told me yesterday that Bush was a great guy for extending an invitation to the Obamas to tour the White House. I say that it would be an honorable guesture for McCain to hold a press conference today and state his appreciation for Palin's effort. Lets all be honest. McCain was a washed up candidate and the Republicans should have been able to pitch a stronger, fresher candidate. To blame your VP partner is weak.

On the flip side, I say to my Democrat friends "be careful what you wish for". The Democrats have complete control over the near future. For that, they will be given complete credit for 100% of what happens. The Republicans are already blaming Obama for the stock market drops the last two days. Thats despite the fact that it's down 34% for the year under the Bush administration. The next four years will be very challenging on all fronts. As I've stated before, the economic cycle is must stronger than a political party or individual politicians. The psychology of the masses will drive the direction. I believe that the Democrats will be navigating the ship through major rogue waves. At the end of that process, the party will be in shambles. At that point, the masses will be disenchanted with both parties. At "the bottom", there will be a third party that finally gains some steam and becomes a viable competitor. That party will probably be somewhere in the middle.