Perfect picture of what it feels like just happened.

"I maintain that if a politician can still get burned talking about a lower defense budget and higher taxes for bigger, better government, it's still a center-right country."

But we haven't seen that have we Rotwang? No, what we have seen since Bush got in is a Democratic Party so afraid of it's own shadow that no discussion ever proceeds beyond the commonly accepted wisdom that no politician can even dare to bring the subject up. It's little more than a self-fulfiling prophecy.

Democrats don't talk about it because being burned is a fact. They don't talk about it because they are pussies who are too afraid to bring it up. It is only an assumption and an unproven one that a politician would get burned for proposing a lower defense budget. There is a far stronger case today for doing so than there ever was before. Furthermore, the case is easy to make! The defense budget, as you are no doubt aware, is obscenely bloated, inexcusably filled with rampant waste, fraud, and abuse. And as a matter of fact, it's about the only place left in the budget that is filled with waste, fraud and abuse.

Sadly for America and the world, it would take some amount of courage for Democrats to actually point out that the Defense budget is far larger than it needs to be and that we spend as much as all the other nations on earth combined spend annually. That simple fact alone, if publicized would go a long, long way toward building public support for cutting the defense budget. But again, it would take some cajones and some moral fiber so I'm not going to hold my breath for Obama or any of the other Washington Democrats to grow a pair on this question. Either way, your basic assumption, in my opinion, remains just that: an assumption and not a reality.

Obama has his work cut out for him.

If we are a center-right country it's by an objective, international standard of where that center is, not by the GOP's definition, which is the center and the far right of the GOP.

This bullshit about Obama having to move to the right or to the center, however its phrased, prompts this question;

Will the Republicans meet Obama by moving to the left or to the center? If so, what are they willing to bargain on?

One example;

According to Obama he wants to cut the taxes of 90/95% of the working people while allowing the taxes to the wealthiest to revert to what they paid under Clinton. How will this issue be resolved?

If Obama is, as they claim; "the most liberal member of the Senate", then any movement by him has to be a move to the right.

I think its about time we get a liberal friendly government, f**k Governing from the center. If Obama is; "the most liberal member of the Senate" then I want him to govern that way.

Obama's principal goal is to be reelected on November 6, 2012. Satisfaction of that goal requires that the sun should begin to rise over America ("Morning in America") beginning Labor Day 2010.

In the mean time Obama, if he's wise, will spend the first 600 days (forget about those "1000 days") cleaning up the Executive branch -- appointing competent administrators, revising and canceling eight years of Bush-Cheney authored regulations, and convincing the Congress to fund the agencies, adequately.

Liberal programs such as "card check" and health care reform can be left to die in Congress in the same way that savvy Republican presidents leave their supporters' social issues to wither on the legislative vine.

Finally, Obama should take a quick and hard recession. Any attempt to ameliorate the effects of that recession over and above a humane strengthening of the safety net will only drag it out and diminish his prospects of reelection.*

* We can count on Bob Rubin to see it just that way.

As I said eleswhere;

If Obama put Cheney in jail he'd win a Nobel Prize;

if he put Cheney AND Bush in jail he'd go up on Mt Rushmore.

I think a Special Investigative Committee on what happened during the 8 years of Bush Cheney is needed. We need to know what these cretins did that was never publicized. Bush's signing statements all have to be publicized and actions he took regarding them, the no bid contracts, the behind the scenes plotting to abuse the Constitution, the conflicts of interest, the politicization of the Justie Dept.

One investigation I'd like to see. When Andy Card, and I think Gonzales, went to the hospital to get Ashcroft to sign off on one of the Bush gang's more nefarious actions concerning domestic spying because there was a revolution of insiders who were ready to resign including Comey and FBI head Mueller. I think the Bush gang got caught in the act of using government agencies to spy on the Democrats and other political enemies, and this was the reason for the revolt of the insiders.

Pelosi let Bush off the hook with her irresponsible "impeachment is off the table"
comment; to allow the Bush/Cheney cartel to ride off into the sunset without the public ever knowing how frikkin evil they really were is simply more Democratic irresponsibility.

Sadly, the Democrats, fearing loss of power, will act like weasels and do nothing to upset their new apple cart.