When you think about it, President Obama's Inaugural speech - and I will never grow tired of hearing the words "President Obama" - was almost classically Conservative. It was a call to tradition, history, and the values of the past. He also preached responsibility, sacrifice, and adherence to the rule of law.
Barack Obama marks the generational paradigm shift in American politics. This happens every 40 years or so, and it establishes the vocabulary and the rules for how our politics operate. Since 1968, we've been living in Nixonland. For the 40 years before that, it was FDR and the New Deal. Now it will be Obama and...what, exactly? Ah, that's part of the mystery. The poles are being reshuffled. Concepts that were once defined as "Conservative" - tradition, caution, prudence - will be redefined to Obama's realm.
Today's conservatism - the GOP right - is hopelessly lost. They've burned away their candles at both ends, and all that's left is cruelty, paranoia, fear and loathing. They're a support group for cranks, conspiracy theorists, and Oxycontin junkies. Their kind will not return. Their time is past.
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