Posted by
"Mind and Morals" Michael Coyne on Monday, January 19, 2009 9:53:00 PM
With tomorrow’s historic events just about ready to jump the
gate, and the end of the 43rd presidency just as close, I feel an
odd mix of reflective sadness and dare I say…hope.
I will miss President Bush. While this will not surprise any
of my regular readers, much of America doesn’t quite understand that emotion. I
believe, with all my heart, that President Bush is a patriot and a great
American. And I believe that he did his absolute best to act in what he
believed to be the best interests of America’s citizens and America’s
posterity. While I may not have always agreed with the President, I have always
given him moral support and the benefit of the doubt.
We have all seen outright hateful bumper stickers, buttons,
t-shirts, etc. that attack the 43rd President. And, I’ll admit, I
came dangerously close to adopting a similar stance towards President-Elect
Obama.
I was not alone. Many disenfranchised Republicans are
reverting to a base sense of vitriol that has permeated too much of America for
the past several years. We, as a Party, and as Americans, must rise above this
sort of knee-jerk reaction.
I did not vote for the President-Elect. Nor do I plan on
voting for his reelection in 2012. However, I will resist the temptation to
harbor specific animosity towards President Obama straight out of the box. I
know that I am above that.
America has nothing to fear but the politics of hate.
Hatred gets us nowhere. And, I suppose, until 2012, I am now
a de-facto ‘Republican for Obama.” As should we all be, if we plan on surviving
as a Party and as a Nation.
I am not afraid to pledge my moral support, if not my
political support, to the incoming President. Remember, readers, Barack Obama
is now the President of the United States, and that means the ENTIRE United
States. Whether or not you voted for him. I may disagree with him vehemently on
a massive cadre of issues, but I will grant him all of the following, and I
expect all Republicans and Conservatives to do the same:
1)
I will give the 44th President the
benefit of the doubt. Even when I disagree—and that’s bound to happen
frequently—I will trust that he believes that he is acting in America’s
best interests.
2)
I will not engage in any active show of contempt
or disloyalty to America’s new Commander-in-Chief. Republicans must take a cue
from the British. We must now act as “Loyal Opposition,” never as enemies or
antagonists.
3)
I will maintain respect for the Office of the
President of the United States, and for the man charged by the electorate with
executing that office.
4)
I will never allow loyalty to my new President
or my new Republican-minority Government to dissuade me from what I believe is
right. I am a conservative, and I will always act as such.
5)
I will, in my heart, wish only the best for
President Obama. I will not wish him ill.
For now, friends, we should all temporarily take up the “Republicans
for Obama” mantle. I wish the new President all the luck in the world… until
the 2012 election, that is.