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The left and the right are making way too much of the outcome of this election.
When one considers first, the context of the election (unpopular war and failing economy tied to the GOP), second, the fact that even in this context the Dem candidate did not get a landslide, and third, the results of the gay marriage initiatives in even blue states, it is clear that the American people did not sign on to the Salon/Daily Kos/Huffington Post agenda.
If the Dems want to overreach, good luck. So long as the GOP is able to keep the most liberal supreme court nominees off the court, the conservative agenda will not be much damaged and conservative ideas will be in a very good position to make a comeback.
The notion that pundits on the left and right (with too much air and web space to fill) are pushing, i.e., that the left has a mandate and the GOP must retool, is ludicrous. A very small number of voters, unhappy with the war and the economy, moved left this election. But many, many more stayed firmly in the conservative and moderate camp. And even those few who moved are not, in their core beliefs, that much different than they were a year ago or 4 years ago. So if the Dems push a far left agenda--as they in their undisciplined way almost certainly will, the future looks rosy for conservatives.
