Change Indeed

I’m feeling a lot better than I have been and not just because I’ve got more sleep. Hope and Change are more real tonight than they were a year ago. Virginia and New Jersey are the first indicators of a coming Conservative Revolution in 2010 and Maine and Washington are possibly going to  follow California’s lead in preserving marriage. Voters across the country are also less confident in Obama than they were on Election night 2008.

Tonight, residents of both Virginia and New Jersey elected Republican governors. Republican Bob McDonnell won the gubernatorial race in Virgina and Chris Christie – also Republican – won the race in New Jersey. Recent congressional polls have shown Republicans ahead of Democrats and if tonight’s GOP victory is any precursor to the November 2010 Election, President Obama will have a rough time pushing his agenda through Congress.

Voters in Maine overturned their legislature’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, joining 30 states with explicit same-sex marriage bans (14 other states have statutes prohibiting same-sex marriage). Referendum 71 in Washington – which prohibits same-sex marriage but allows domestic partnerships – has, by most accounts, passed (As of 11/3/09 at 11:30 PM Pacific time, the referendum had over 51% approval). The number of US states where gay marriage is legal will once again drop to 5 (I personally expect Iowans to put a measure on the 2010 or 2012 ballot reversing the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage earlier this year).

According to Gallup, Americans are less sure about President Obama than they were a year ago when he was elected. 68% of respondents feel that the US is more divided than before while only 29% feel otherwise. Gallup also indicated that of the past 9 Presidents this country has had since WWII, Obama ranks number 8 when it comes to approval ratings a year after an election (Currently, his approval is hovering around 53% – going as low as 46% some days).  

Hope and Change. These two revolutionary concepts are not truly appreciated until things come to the brink. Until your whole world seems to be in the process of collapse, you cannot look toward “Hope and Change” with real eagerness. But when the national debt is increased to ungodly levels and a ring of corruption chokes Capitol Hill, we all hope for change. Champions of traditional marriage have pushed back the advances made by gay rights advocates, even in the socially liberal states of Washington and Maine. Will Iowa be the next? Voters in Virginia and New Jersey have led the way so now the question is, will the rest of us follow?