Moving forward in the post Obama euphoria of hope hangover mode...

...Which is, of course, what we had better do and get going on fast or the tremendous hope and optimism that came with this man's enormous and stunning rise on the American political firmament will simply de-evolve into the precursor to the next nutjob kneepad Tory NeoCon shift further right in a pendulum swing that I fear may not be over...

...If, that is, all progressive foment simply simmers in the "Obama as Savior" and be all end all of what is possible now that their might in fact be a new and long term demographic shift that makes it unlikely that the same tired old Conservative hoodwinking of the American people can continue mostly unabated as it more or less has since WW2 ended- those fabulous sixties notwithstanding.

So here are a couple of starting points for discussion:

• A little bittie article in the Cleve-A-Burg Pee Dee today notes that Obama has toughened standards on mining with regard to "Mountaintop Removal" practices that effectively enhance profits through "Strip Mining on Steroids" (and we thought the worlds biggest shovel was a travesty in its wreckless pirsuit of easy clean coal money) while in the process ruining land, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and of course, the obligatory lives of people, families, communities, etc. etc..
• Mind you, Obama the Be All End All that he is strengthened regulation but stopped short of taking a stand on ending the practice- because that no doubt might lead to a fight with Mr. Cheney, the political and bureaucratic pit bull operative shill of all things powerful and wealthy that eminate from the overall extractive industreis: coal, oil, nuke-ular...you name it.
• If the Democrats, starting with Obama at both the point and power forward positions, don't start spending their significant political capital they have gained finally after 40+ years of being the Republican Light Loyal opposition/ collaborators to the Hard Right- then the capital will be gone and an amazing window of opportunity will close quickly...
• And we will have a Republican team in power in the White House consisting of Sarah Palin or General Patreus playing the roll of "Cheerleader in Chief" made famous by Sonnie Dubya with perhaps, in a madcap ironic twist, Jeb doing a stint at Vice learning the ways of the control panel in the bunker perhaps from Cheney himself, or could be a Virtual Reality holigram of old Dick if he's out to pasture or quail hunting full time by then.
• And speaking of Quail- don't be surprised if his career can be resurrected by the NeoCon think tanks. And Newt Gingrich is a real man's man and supreme intellectual with honor and a code he lives by. Just ask Rush.