Well, Tuesday was unpleasant. We were standing athwart history, and history rolled over us like a freight train. We really can't deny that.
At the moment, at least, this is not a center-right country: it's center-left. Some would have us believe that this is due to demographics, and thus has an unstoppable momentum behind it. But I don't think that has to be the case.
In the near future, some predictions:
- There won't be any conciliation between the parties, unless the GOP chooses to roll over. Obama won narrowly, but he's going to view this as a mandate and push his agenda as aggressively as ever.
- We will see even more abuses of executive power over the next two, and possibly four, years. (My biggest fear is that this won't end with Obama's second term, but may become a permanent fixture of American politics. If I'm right about that, then we'd better hope we never elect an ambitious power-monger President.)
- Taxes are going up for most people. The most obvious top-line effects will be on "the rich", but if business taxes are raised, that affects everyone. If gas is taxed more heavily, that affects everyone. And so on.
- Health care coverage will get worse as more companies opt not to provide it to their employees. We're going to start the long march towards universal care. I predicted this two years ago and so far have seen no reason to doubt it.
- Iran will get a nuclear weapon.
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