Where now for the GOP?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

The pendulum swings back and forth, but...the GOP faces two very big long-term problems:

1) demographics - the GOP has sadly failed to attract minorities- that's not gonna cut it with the demographic changes

2) the social conservatives simply will NOT bend on the issue of abortion and homosexuality.  We'd rather lose elections (and even our lives) than lose our souls.  We believe that the world is destined to embrace sin more and more as the end approaches, so we are expecting that the world will agree with us less and less.  Our allegiance is with the Truth, not the Republican party.  

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Wait until theres a negative reaction to an Obama policy/policies. Similar to how Democrats eventually took the mantle in 2006 or GOP in 1994 and 1980.

no, I think Obama should be given, and will be given, wide latitude in his economic and foreign policies in the 1st 2 years.  As long as he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet, his approval ratings may be >65% over his first two years, barring some foreign policy disaster.

America needed a change, so America will give Obama time to see if he fits the change that is needed.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Wait until theres a negative reaction to an Obama policy/policies. Similar to how Democrats eventually took the mantle in 2006 or GOP in 1994 and 1980.

no, I think Obama should be given, and will be given, wide latitude in his economic and foreign policies in the 1st 2 years.  As long as he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet, his approval ratings may be >65% over his first two years, barring some foreign policy disaster.

America needed a change, so America will give Obama time to see if he fits the change that is needed.

Well I agree, any negative reaction to his change wont be showing up till 2012-2014 anyway. Bush didn't illicit negative reactions till late 2005 which was thus expressed in 2006 midterms and 2008 election.

yep, 9/11 changed the mentality of the nation so much that Bush was given a lot of slack.  Same with the current situation - Obama will be given a lot of slack, but perhaps not as much as Bush.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Wait until theres a negative reaction to an Obama policy/policies. Similar to how Democrats eventually took the mantle in 2006 or GOP in 1994 and 1980.

no, I think Obama should be given, and will be given, wide latitude in his economic and foreign policies in the 1st 2 years.  As long as he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet, his approval ratings may be >65% over his first two years, barring some foreign policy disaster.

America needed a change, so America will give Obama time to see if he fits the change that is needed.

Misreading the election, alas...

how so? very few like the state of our economy or the state of the war on terror, Obama can't do much worse.  And I for one will be extemely glad to have a president that can complete a sentence.  And it will be refreshing to see a black man in the oval office.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I don't necessarily disagree with your comment.  But those who voted for him (or a lot who don't) have very high expectations of him, most of them being quite unrealistic.

yeah, but I think you underestimate the impact of having a president who can actually talk will have on the American people.  I don't think Bush's approval rating would have ever dropped below 40% if he had the ability to communicate.  

And the scary thing is, Bush's speaking abilities have only DECREASED since he has been in office, which tells me that he never really had an idea where he wanted to take the country.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Yeah, because if any Conservatism is hurt this year, it is Fiscal rather than Social.

agreed.  but the GOP left Fiscal conservatism behind over the last 5 years - beginning with Prescription drug bill in 2003.  it actually started to end in 2000 - that's when earmarks started to make a comeback.  The modern Fiscal conservative era was 95-99 when the GOP led congress really held the line on spending increases.

In reality, the 2000 election was about how to spend our prosperity and we are still spending as if the economy was in the late 90's tech boom.

but you can't be fiscally conservative when we're facing a meltdown of our banking system.  We had no choice but to pass bailout bill.  Over the next 18 months, social conservatives will be viewed as standing in the way of fighting the economic fire

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

We lost because of the economic crisis.

true, but McCain probably only stood about 20-25% chance of winning even without the meltdown.  It is extremely hard for one party to maintain the whitehouse for 3 consecutive terms