In a rather subdued and anticlimactic national address President elect Obama abandoned the soaring rhetoric and the fanciful promises of the campaign trail and injected reality to begin the process of lowering expectation concerning accountability and governing success. President Obama's first act as the new American leader was a good one, with the appointment of the Karl Rover style Senator Rohm Emmanuel as his Chief of Staff. The Senator is a successful political enforcer in the old style backroom battles of Washington politics. He gets things done with partisan passion and good old fashion intimidation. Rohm will not pretend to reach across the aisle, he will openly blow up the aisle and it is because of this "take no prisoners" type politics he is respected on both sides of the ideological divide. The unifications of political America has always been a campaign tool and not only used by President Obama; he just used it better than anyone ever has. His Chief of Staff does not hate conservatives but he will happily destroy anyone that stands in the way of him implementing President Obama's liberal agenda. He is a good patriotic American who actually believes his way of thinking is best for the country, a zealot if you will, which makes him a very dangerous political adversary. The good news for conservatives who oppose the new COS is that they will not have to worry so much about the sneak attack or the knife in the back that accompanies most conscientious compromise in Congress, because the two handed broad sword will be swinging in fearsome decapitating regularity. President Obama committed a refreshing act of political honesty with his first official act of leadership. The gloves are off and its business as usual...let the fight begin.

In related but different news, the freefall of the financial markets are in direct response to the expected redistribution of wealth in America. Unemployment will continue to rise as business, big and small, frantically search for viable ways to maintain profit margins. Reduction in overhead in the form of less payroll cost has always been the first and most effective way to enhance the dream of continued existence. Next, of course, will be an increase in the cost of goods and services. Everything from milk to dry cleaning will cost more, the effort of businesses to survive the coming increase in taxations and government mandated cost of doing business in America. We will experience the loss of some income and job creating institution (mostly very large companies that can afford to move) as they leave America and set up shop in more regulatory welcoming countries. There is always hope, and I think a good possibility, that President Obama will display his much celebrated intellect and reframe from further punishing an already depressed economic situation by allowing ideology to overrule reality and implementing additional taxation on the American people. After all he is now receiving previously classified information that may drastically influence those strategies he would like to use and those that might actually help in our present situation. I don't think anyone questions his intellect, I just pray he has the moral strength to stand fast to his personal assessments about what is best for this country as opposed to what the fringe kooks at The Daily Kos believe should be a priority of governing in today's dangerous world.

I think the anger and personal hatred of the last sixteen years from both sides is going to make it difficult to "unify" the political divide in this country and I believe President Obama's margin of error is going to be about as big as George Bush's has been. The left learned character destruction from conservatives after the indiscretions' of President Clinton and elevated hatred to a new and personal level with the demonization of George Bush, his family and his administration. The political right in the House, Senate and in America will not, cannot, forgive and forget eight years of abuse and outright obstruction of anything positive for America from a purely political power play by the liberal media and politicians. It is an unfair canyon for President Obama to have to try and cross, it is a situation not entirely of his making...but it is what is real and now. If President Obama emulates the centrist leadership of Bill Clinton he will have a solid chance of getting positive outcomes for the American people. Four years is not enough to fix the economy or solidify America's security in the world. If President Obama seriously pursues his socialist, radical leftist agenda he will dramatically energize the conservative base and quite possibly cost the Left control of Congress in two years and himself a second term in four. Barack Obama has the tools to at least begin the rescue of the United States; if he is truly the agent of change and truly dreams of a better America, we might have a chance...but if it's just about ideology and revenge then he will be just another unsuccessful democratic Politician.