Can we survive another four?

Albert Einstein is often quoted as describing insanity as performing the same action repeatedly and expecting different results.

Tonight, America's voters have spoken.  And they voted for insanity.

What does it say when I catch a glimpse of CNN covering the election results tonight, and they point out three-quarters of those exit-polled did not agree that the solution to our economic woes lies in raising taxes?  The CNN host was confused by the results, pointing out the same people were telling the pollsters that they voted to re-elect Barack Obama!

As I write this, it's been a little over a week since Hurricane Sandy wreaked untold billions of dollars worth of damage on the states of New England.  Residents of New Jersey and New York still without electricity.  Or heat.  Or with more than a foot of water in their living rooms.  Tone-deaf New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decides to continue as planned with the marathon, then reverses himself when he no doubt realized how heartless it looked to have people from out of town force newly-homeless residents out of hotel rooms and then run in a marathon.

Speaking of heartless, I'm given to wonder if these people still without the basic luxuries of life we take for granted here in the industrialized world wish that Sandy had struck a week earlier, or the election had been a week later.  We're seeing a failure of Big Government.

A Big Government that Mr. Obama espouses.  Government which can violate centuries of established contract law and nullify the pensions of 20,000 non-unionized Delphi workers in favor of UAW workers who reliably helped deliver the election to Obama tonight.  All due respect to Mr. Romney, but it isn't a question of whether Detroit should be allowed to die.  Detroit has already died.  GM has already died.  They can't compete!  They're making a product that consumers don't want (e.g. the Chevy Volt).  The taxpayers still own a sizable share of GM.  Funny, my dividend check hasn't arrived in the mail...

It's just one of many policies I disagree with this president on.  The math just doesn't add up.  But trying to convince the short-term beneficiaries of the long-term cost of these freebies is an exercise in futility.  A recent interview asked S.E. Cupp what her favorite joke was.  Her answer:  "Keynesian Economics".  And she's absolutely right.  You can't prime the pump forever.  Eventually, the bill for this massive debt will come due.  And the near-majority of the country that lives off the fruits of the near-minority's labors will turn to the "wealthy" to pay the bill, only to find the wealthy aren't there anymore.  The smart ones will have relocated themselves and their wealth to a more hospitable climate, if it exists.  The not-so-smart ones will be next to you in the bread lines.

Unlike my colleagues on the opposite side of the political spectrum, I prefer not to wallow in despair because my guy lost the election.  I prefer to see the silver lining.  Four years ago, then-Senator Obama's election ended up resulting in my being laid off after almost twelve years of employment with a defense contractor.  In the three years since finding myself unemployed for a few months, losing a beloved pet at a too-young age, and exiting a loveless relationship, I opted to relocate from Minnesota to Iowa in pursuit of a contract position.  I found a new job with a well-known employer.  I not only enjoy the job immensely and recognize its greater room for growth, but my move resulted in me meeting my future wife.  In adapting to my new circumstances, I found new opportunities and reaped new benefits.  Even tonight, my sour mood has brightened a little as I count my blessings.

I also notice the trend.  Now that Obama has a record (of failures, I might add), his staggering election win in 2008 has been chipped away at a little bit.  Perhaps people who voted for Obama in 2008 realized their mistake?  Perhaps more people will be introspective in these coming four years, and we can slowly pull our country back from the fiscal cliff that stands between us remaining an economic superpower and us becoming a banana republic.