Waiting for the inevitable

Funny thing about presidential political polls. If you agree with the forecast, they have merit and should be watched. If you disagree with the outcome, you look for flaws to reinforce your political preference. That's either human nature or raw partisan thinking.

As a conservative and a proud one to boot, I must acknowledge that the polls are not leaning in my direction. And given the overwhelming agreement among the polls, I cannot find flaws in the face of such one-sided outcomes. So barring some unforeseen circumstance, the outcome of the election that looms next week appears decided in the polls. And not anxious to wear the label of a sore loser, I will accept the outcome with understandable reluctance.

The far-right-wing element of the Republican Party is predicting nothing short of the end of the American dream. I pray they are wrong.

Despite the warped rhetoric that dominates the Internet, Barack Obama is neither the Antichrist, nor a Muslim, nor anti-American. He's not my cup of tea, and I believe in my heart that his brand of federal policies will be harmful to this country. Yet life will go on and the sun will rise in the East and we'll nudge our way down the road. But I will continue to be amazed perhaps until my dying day that we may well soon elect the most liberal man possible to the highest post in the land.

We've elected liberals before, and we've elected conservatives. But never have we reached as far left on the political spectrum as we may soon do.

What is truly frightening to a small-government advocate who believes in the American dream and does not believe in the redistribution of wealth is that Obama will have the ammunition in Congress to move this country to the extreme left of the political agenda. And this is despite all evidence that we are a center-right nation. I will never understand.

I can only assume two truths about this election. The sudden downfall of the economy overshadowed all else in the discussion. And the unpopularity of President Bush is so great that we yearn for change regardless of the direction of that change.

Do I sound like a defeatist? I'm just a realist. For conservatives this is the perfect storm. Wealth will be confiscated from those who produce to provide for those who do not. The courts will be directed in a massive leftward shift that will dominate the judiciary for decades. The dependent population will expand and explode as the federal government takes over as the provider from womb to tomb.

With 40 percent of the population currently paying no taxes, Obama's pledge to reduce their taxes seems dishonest at best. But his form of tax cuts for this population will take the form of tax credits in annual checks. In the past we called that welfare. I assume the term welfare will soon be outlawed as we push political correctness off the edge of the American cliff.

I have not been thrilled with the outcome of several past elections. But never have I had a level of concern for the future of this great nation, for the future of my children and grandchildren. Police have been placed on alert in major urban centers like Detroit and Washington should Obama not win the election. No police have been placed on alert in the event of a McCain defeat.

Isn't there something basically wrong with that scenario?

Vote next week. It's kinda important!

Michael Jensen is a Southeast Missourian columnist and publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston.