We May Have to Refurbish Instead of Renew and Restore

Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,
Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
Öd’ und leer das Meer.
-T.S. Eliot



Having been lucky enough to have lived in a time when leadership was defined by a man named Ronald Reagan, it's always been understandable to this writer that those who would come after him could never live up to his greatness. Selecting candidates in primaries and general elections since then has been more like horseshoes than hand grenades. Reality has always told this blogger that Reagan was a once in a lifetime deal. Coming close to the spike was more likely than getting another ringer.

Renewing and restoring America is a chore only for a great leader. While we can never rely on one politician to "save us," the dynamics necessary to make this happen require an army millions strong and a leader that can use that power to transcend the usual ebbs and flows of normal politics. Without that next great one, we may end up merely refurbishing this thing instead of renewing and restoring it.

Robert Eugene Simmons pens a piece at American Thinker that takes a bit more of a grim view than I do, but ultimately the gist of what he is saying makes a point that has to be understood. While it's a stretch to contend that Obama will win now that Palin has withdrawn, he correctly puts forth, using Herman Cain as an example, "the liberal media will troll through every relationship, every business deal, every word he has ever spoken. If that fails, the lies will start." He makes a valid point when he writes "[i]f Palin had been in the race, the smear tactics would have failed" because they have already thrown everything they have at her.

Simmons' theory is the media will destroy all of Romney's opponents first, handing him the nomination so that they can turn on him the way they turned on McCain in 2008. It's a well thought out piece, but I still believe we can beat Obama without Palin. Regardless of whether it's Romney or someone else, the Republican nominee will have an electorate not as easily lied to by the media as they were four years ago. There is no lie the media can tell the American people today that will erase the unemployment checks, the foreclosure notices and the obvious decline in the American standard of living.

What happens to our country after Obama loses is another thing. Socialism will continue to fester underneath the surface (see Occupy Wall Street). Crony capitalism cannot just be taken down with a speech in Iowa; it's got to be taken down by the person who gave the speech. If the person who is supposed to be taking it down isn't running, do you really think any of these other Republican candidates are going to be able to do it?

Obama will bring about his own demise. His policies are disastrous. The country is sick of "hope and change," and any political scientist worth his weight in salt will tell you that the American people always vote their pocketbook unless there is a serious issue of national defense (a la FDR).

But lets face facts here. We're not going to get a brand new shiny city on a hill like we originally hoped. Instead, we'll probably get a refurb. We can push back the socialism with the defeat of Obama. We can even start creating jobs again and get the economy back on track. But if you think the systemic problems are going to get fixed, I have a bridge to nowhere I'd like to sell you.

Anthony James at Tea Party Tribune sums up the point when he writes:

In the nearly three years since Obama’s victory, American conservatives have remained sane largely by keeping our focus on that bit of light at the end of the tunnel. That bit of light is also the most brightly shining superstar in all of American politics. We were able to bide our time and suffer the horrific indignities of the Obama administration by clinging to the hope, the desperate belief, that come 2012 we would have a chance to watch Governor Sarah Palin do for America what she had done for Alaska as president of a Nation once again allowed the opportunity to draw itself up to its full height.
...
We also knew that of all the candidates who might win in 2012 for the Republican ticket, only Sarah had a well known history of hunting down those of her predecessors who had run afoul of the law and having them fitted for state-issued jumpsuits. Nothing less would have been appropriate in Alaska under Governor Palin, and nothing less will be remotely acceptable now for America.

We know the next political relationship will be better than the one we have now, but it will not be the one we want. We will have to settle for something less than Palin for president. The Obama nightmare may come to an end, but the dream is on hold, too. Survival is better than destruction. But, abundance is no longer on the table.

We know she's not going anywhere. She will still be active in the cause. She is still an influential voice. We will never stop agreeing with her. We will never stop loving what she has done for our country. But she needs to understand that no one other than her is worthy enough for her army even if they do go out and vote for someone else because they have to.

Sarah Palin has a brighter future ahead of her than America does right now. It will not be until she brings that brightness back to America as our elected leader that our country will ever be renewed and restored. We will be here for her. But for now, it's like watching television when there really isn't anything on.

The river’s tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind
Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.
Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed.
And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;
Departed, have left no addresses.
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept…
Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song,
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.
But at my back in a cold blast I hear
The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear.