Cautiously Optimistic

On Wednesday Morning, the day after the election, I went outside to get the paper. The sky was overcast and a few drops of unseasonable rain were falling. The Wall Street Journal was not in its accustomed place at the end of the driveway, and a Raven cawed at me mockingly. Turning to my iPhone I discovered that the Market was down 125 points. By the end of the day, it was down over 400 points.

Later Wednesday I went by Ron Peterson guns, figuring that would be an interesting place to visit. There was a big crowd there; I had to wait for a space to open up in the parking lot. As I left I noticed a woman with a big camera and a notebook. She had a Press Pass from the Journal around her neck. Figured there would be a short piece on the store in the paper in a day or two. Yesterday that article was on page one! There were some rather scary quotes from customers who fear that Obama will outlaw guns and ammunition both. The market was down another 400 odd points yesterday.

Despite all that I am Cautiously Optimistic. During the election campaign it was distressing to me the way people would paint Obama in the colors that they wanted to see him. Liberals were excited about Left-wing Judges, and his anti-war stance. Moderates and social conservatives pointed to his words on parental responsibility. I felt obliged to support McCain because he was a known quantity, and much of what I knew I liked. It seemed irresponsible to pin so much on Hoping that Obama was what I wanted.

Now he is President-Elect, so like the rest of the country I must hope so, or despair. Figuring out his core values has been for me a bit like reading tea leaves, or like the good old days of Kremlinology. Obama's choice of Rahm Emmanuel and other Clinton administration veterans has given me much of the real support for optimism, given the Clinton era's Balanced Budgets and Free Trade Agreements.

Here's hoping!