ABSOLUTE OPTIMISM: BARAK TAKE A LOOK

SOME ADVICE FROM RUDYARD KIPLING

If



If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;



If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;



If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";



If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,



These are words that should be memorized in these times. So our President can malign the left-wingers of this country
as appeasers when he and his State Department have been practicing the politics of accomodation and expediency with
our enemies. So the putative GOP nominee advocates liberal causes while his sycophants proclaim McCain is a
Conservative. So the GOP Congressional leaders are a feckless bunch who see the American taxpayer as the enemy
and not the Democrats. So the polls today show a GOP massacre in November when most of America is not paying
attention. So the GOP loses a couple of races when by all means they should have won.



If "if's and but's" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas. But the reality is we, the American people and
more particularly, conservatives have been dealt a terrible hand.



What I have seen in the past few weeks on this board is a lot of despair, fear, and lack of direction. For instance, when
talking about oil, one bright and innovative poster proposed that we need to file a "class action" lawsuit against the folks
who are denying this country cheap energy. Oh, how the karma dings were flying. What an absolute wonderful idea
everyone thought.

I am sorry to spoil the party but 1) who is going to foot the bill of this very expensive endeavor and 2) the law as it stands
today favors the enemy of cheap energy.

I was particularly amused as it was just a few weeks ago when everyone was deriding lawyers and the practice of law. It
is nice to know that we are, at times, still appreciated.



So the GOP is making that sucking sound when the water is being drained from the bottom of the tub. What are we to
do, become Libertarians or join another small party? Are we to quit because the tasks that face conservatives is too
daunting? Are we to cede the field to the enemy and abandon the causes of Freedom and Liberty?



All of us should be reminded that our great General George Washington only won 3 out of 9 battles. Yet, he won our
independence. We, like Washington, must persevere. We must focus on our objectives and finish the job. This is not
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achieved in one election or in one president. It is a movement. A movement that does not end with a loss or series of
losses.



This is not a fool's errand. Let's turn despair into optimism. Let's take advantage of our opponents' cockiness and
arrogance. When all looks lost, continue on.



The only person here who has an excuse is Mrs. Fletcher, er, I mean ...... Capo.;)



I strongly recommend that we all take Kipling's poem to heart and hope that the attitude is infectious.