As the nations first black president, a heavy burden weighs on the shoulders of Barak Obama. In addition to the economic crisis, national defense, and a host of other issues, Mr. Obama will set the bar for those who try to succeed him. Whether or not other members of his race follow his foot steps, will be determined by the manner in which he conducts himself. Like it or not, prejudice still exists in this country and black Americans are by no means the majority. Hispanics will soon eclipse their numbers.  If Obama is perceived as being heavy handed by over reaching in his socialist agenda or in the way he deals with critics, those will be marks against him. The more extreme his behavior, the farther it will go in stigmatizing his presidency. If his popularity drops too far, it will be a very long time before another Black is elected or even nominated. To be fair, it would be the same with any minority occupying the highest office in the land for the first time. Whether or not Obama realizes this is another question. No matter how much people try to delude themselves, this is not a race, or ethnic neutral country. Time will tell, but one thing is certain, when you start out at the top, there’s no place to go but down.

Unlike others who would extend an olive branch to those who deserted the conservative movement, I say, that branch is broken. The salvation of conservatism is to eliminate the elements that corrupted it. The ones who only tacitly believed in it in the first place. The reason we lost last night was because we put up as our nominee a man who never believed in the cause, someone who adopted the mantle of conservatism for political expediency. How can a man who fought and voted against the Bush tax cuts, turn on a dime and think no one will notice? The people of this country aren't that stupid. Did I support McCain? Yes, once he was the nominee, but never in the primaries. Republicans do not win elections by abandoning their principles and "reaching across the aisle". That "Kum by ya" crap has never worked and it never will. Conservatives win when they have the strength of their convictions and compel those in the center to join them. McCain lost the "mushy" center he did his utmost to appeal to by playing nice.

This is not the first time a Republican has lost by trying to appease those on the left. When George H. Bush spoke of a "Kinder, Gentler nation," that was code to the moderates that he was one of them, not the evil hard hearted man his predecessor was. What did it get him? A stab in the back from the Democrats in congress who, at the point of a knife, forced him to break his "no new taxes" pledge. If not they would have prosecuted his son Neil to the fullest extent of the law for his involvement in the Savings and Loan Scandal. So Bush senior first sold out his principals and then the rest of us, one, to "broaden" his base and two, to save the hide of one of his own. He and we paid  for it, with eight years of Bill Clinton.

The "prairie fire" that Ronald Regan started is gone, snuffed out by the traitors in his own party. It is time for those of us left behind to rekindle that fire, until it becomes a blaze that engulfs the nation the way it did in 1980.

Tonight we witnessed an historic event, the election of the first African American to the Presidency of the United States. While I do not agree with the choice my countrymen have made, not because of race, but ideology, the ascension of Barack Obama to the highest office in the land speaks volumes about the promise of America. The opportunities are here if we only choose to avail ourselves of them. In the days ahead Mr. Obama will find out what those who came before him now know, it is far easier to seek and attain the reigns of power, than it is to control and hold on to them. The ones who put him in office will expect much from him, far more than he can deliver. Those who sing his praises now, will very shortly curse his name.

In his quest for the presidency, Mr. Obama articulated a message of change. Soon he will come to realize that by not clearly defining that change, there is a heavy price to be paid. The most successful presidents have been those who were elected with a clearly defined agenda. Such was the case with Ronald Reagan. Change, in and of itself, is not a mandate from which to govern. As time goes by, many in his own party who initially support him, will turn against him, for they are creatures of the moment, who’s loyalties lie only in the continuance of their own power. He will also learn what presidents Carter, Clinton and Bush quickly discovered, that a government of one party, is not a government of one mind. I wish President Obama well and God speed for the sake of our nation. I and many others in the conservative movement will be here to support him when he is right, and will fight vigilantly against him when he is wrong. I offer him my congratulations and this warning, "All Glory is Fleeting.”