Peace

I have always loved this song. This arrangement, which our church did this morning, is very powerful. This morning, this song convicted me in a new way. It brought tears to my eyes thinking about the millions and millions who do not experience "peace on earth." We should be bringing peace - to war torn nations, to poverty stricken families, to those suffering from domestic abuse and violence. We can't just wish peace into reality. We can't just ignore places where there is no peace. We, as Christians, are called by Christ to be peacemakers. I believe this peace is twofold. Peace in our souls and peace in our communities and world. At His birth, the angels called for "peace on earth." Yet today, our world is far from peace. What does it mean to be a peacemaker? At Christmas, I often think about love, joy, and hope. Those seem fairly easy to accomplish or at least to grasp. But peace seems much more daunting a task to me. So, what am I doing to bring "Peace on Earth"?

Claw and Antler Time

Now that the Texas Rangers are post-season bound, it is time to look back at my 2010 prediction. At the beginning of the season, after assessing the Rangers’ pitching and line-up and comparing them to the rest of the AL West, I predicted a 79-83 record and a 3rd place finish in the Division. Thankfully, I was off by 11 wins. Last Saturday, when the Rangers clinched the West was a happy, happy day. My kids are tired of me reminding them that the Rangers have made the playoffs.

What about the season? If at the beginning of the season I had said that Scott Feldman and Rich Harden would combine for a 12-16 record, Josh Hamilton would barely play the last month of the season, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler would spend multiple stints on the DL, Vlad would hit .200 in July, Derek Holland would still be struggling, Saltalamacchia would be off the team, Chris Davis would hit .192 with 1 home run, and our catching would be pathetic offensively, I would expect this to be a down year. But somehow, in the magic that is 2010, the Rangers have taken all of that and come close to meeting Nolan Ryan’s expectation of 92 wins. Not only that, but they held a double digit lead in the West over the other three teams and may possibly possess the MVP, Manager of the Year, and Rookie of the Year.

So what of my prediction? My misses:
1. I assumed the Rangers’ starters needed a minimum of 70 wins to be postseason bound. This year, the starters went 58-51. What has compensated for this is that a number of relievers have more wins than all but three of our starters. Our starters have kept us in games that our offense has been able to win late. The 58 wins are 12 less wins than our starters had last year.

2. Scott Feldman. While I made allowance that last year was a fluke, I still predicted that he “had found his groove” and would win 16 games. Instead, he is 5-9 as a starter and 7-11 overall. He’s been terrible.

3. Wilson. I predicted a sub .500 pitcher. He has instead been the staff ace. While I don’t know if he has enough gas to make it through the postseason, he has certainly been a pleasant surprise for me this year.

4. Lewis. I did not expect him to be on the team for long this year. However, with a little run support, he could easily have 16 or 17 wins. If the offense had performed for Lewis and Lee, the starters would have been much closer to the 70 win mark.

5. AL West. I thought the West would be a good division. While my 79 win prediction would have earned the Rangers 3rd place, they would have only been 2 games out of first. The Angels underperformed, the As were pretty much what they should be, and Seattle was pathetic. The lineup they ran out there each night was awful.

My hits:
1. I predicted the failure of Rich Harden. Although, he has been even worse than I predicted.

2. Catcher and 1st base. I questioned the legitimacy of any of our first basemen and catchers. While the Rangers made trades to deal with these positions, the offense has still been lagging. I wouldn’t be surprised if the offensive production by our catchers and first basemen was the worst in the league. However, the postseason starts everything over again, so maybe this will change.

3. I questioned the overall health of the team: most notably, Hamilton and Kinsler. While it appears most of the team is now getting healthy, important pieces have been out significant time. Most alarmingly though is the current Josh Hamilton situation. Without a healthy Josh, our postseason offense is much weakened. And the guy who picked up the slack for Josh, David Murphy, is now nursing an injury. The health of the team is still a big concern going into the postseason. Hopefully Josh is healthy.

4. Hunter. I predicted he would be a great success, which for the most part he has been.

5. I thought the new ownership could make some moves to improve the team, which they have. Aside from Christian Guzman, they have made solid trades to go for it this year. That’s exciting. And it has made them better, given them a solid ace for the postseason, and kept the locker room a positive place. This is a fun team to root for.

So, I don’t know how they did it. When one looks at the offensive holes, the pitching record, and the shaky health of the team, one can only believe that this has truly been a magical year. A walk-off wild pitch, walk-off HBP, and walk-off strikeout are three examples of the baseball magic at the Ballpark. The steady leadership of Ron Washington should certainly receive a lot of credit. He has kept this young team calm, has weathered an unsettled ownership mess, and has really personified the team’s ability to come each day ready to win. While he may not be the best in-game manager, he deserves a lot of credit for where this team is. Without an unsettled ownership situation over the past year, Wash may not have survived as the manager. But he has won my respect for the way he leads the team. Josh Hamilton has been the best player in baseball. Through the Rangers’ tough stretches, Josh carried the team. I hope he can have a monster postseason. It will be a shame if the last month keeps him from being league MVP.

My postseason prediction: They will end their 9 game postseason losing streak, win at least their first postseason series, and quite possibly ride the claw and antlers all the way to the World Series win.

More specifically: Rangers will defeat the Rays 3-1. Then defeat the Twins 4-3. The defeat the Phillies 4-3 with Cliff Lee winning 3 games in the series.

Theology of a Three and Five Year Old

Every night when I tuck the girls into bed, they always ask me to sing the “Daddy Song.” I’m not sure how it came to be the “Daddy Song,” but “You Are God Alone” is the actual title. The chorus says:

“You are God Alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
And You were God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
And You are God alone.”

We have been singing this song at bedtime for at least a year now. But a couple of nights ago, as I was finishing up the song, Tessa, with a concerned look on her face, said, “God is not alone, he’s with Jesus.” And Claire added, “He’s also with us and everybody and every animal on earth too. He’s even with people in heaven!”

I love it. Obviously, they were hearing the song as if God were all alone, but still, I love that Tessa’s compassionate heart wanted to make sure God was not alone. And I love that Claire knows God is with her – and even with people in heaven! I like that Claire’s first reaction is to know that the God of the universe is concerned about her. He’s not just a far away God, but one that is here on earth with her.

Faith like a child. It’s beautiful. And inspiring.

Christians, Mosques, Ground Zero, Oh My!

I am a Christian, an American, and a political conservative. Because of this identity, I believe the group that wishes to build a Muslim center near Ground Zero has every right to do so. Those Christians who are political conservatives and are objecting to the mosque are failing to apply basic values to this issue. What I heard this morning on a local talk radio station was appalling. A host was calling people “stupid” and “dummies” for not objecting to the mosque. He couldn’t understand how any American would defend the building of the mosque, or religious center, near Ground Zero. Here’s why I do not oppose, and why I do defend, an Islamic group’s decision to construct a center near the site of the World Trade Center.

As I have already stated, I am a Christian. More specifically, I am a Baptist. Therefore, I believe in religious liberty. In this country, we should always protect religious rights – no matter the religion. Our Founders believed such. And Baptists at the time were the biggest supporters of religious liberty. Our Constitution and other founding documents protect our rights. Most importantly, these rights are protected for each individual, whether in the majority or minority. In this country, we don’t believe that the majority should be able to suppress the rights of others. We believe in majority rule with minority rights. No matter what the majority believes, certain rights of the individual will always be protected. One of those rights is free exercise of religion. If we allow society to restrict one group from worshiping where they wish, what stops the government from restricting others? Instead of protesting the building on an Islamic center near Ground Zero, we should be celebrating the ability of our country to protect and allow for religious freedom. As a Christian, I should cherish the idea that in America, we have the freedom to build multiple places of worship.

As a conservative, I believe in limited government. There are certain powers that the government should not have, especially in relation to our property rights. If a group owns a piece of land and they want to construct something legal on that land, the group should be allowed to do so. Conservatives talk about how the government seems too powerful today, reaching into our lives and telling us what to eat, what to drive, what kind of health insurance we should have, how much of our paycheck we need to fork over, etc. Yet, here is a case where these same conservatives think the government should tell a group of people what they should or shouldn’t do with their land. As a political conservative, I should champion the ability of a group to use private land for legal purposes, rejecting calls for the government to intervene.

Certainly, there are Muslims who think that building a mosque or religious center near Ground Zero is a bad PR move, and I may agree with that. But it also might be a bad PR move to build a mega-church in the middle of a neighborhood, or go door-to-door evangelizing during dinner time, or tell people Jesus is the Way, but because of religious liberty, we allow these practices. And I am thankful for that. If we could use Bill and Ted’s phone booth to go back in time, we should go ask Balthasar Hubmaier, as he is being burned at the stake for practicing believer’s baptism, if we should allow for minority faiths, (even faiths seen by some as threatening to society, as Hubmaier’s Anabaptists were), to construct a place of worship on private land in a country that claims to defend religious liberty.

UT=Smoke Monster, A&M=Benjamin Linus

One of the issues in “Lost” was the ability of some to manipulate others – the long con, the wormhole, the ability to have others do one’s dirty work. Now, I have already compared the saga in the Big XII to Lost in the sense that Nebraska jumping ship was equivalent to Desmond pulling the obelisk out of the shiny pool, creating mass chaos on the island. But there is another parallel for the Big XII and Lost. (Warning: many holes in this parallel, I admit, but it’s not like “Lost” didn’t have plenty of holes too.) Think of this as a “flash-sport-sideways.” In “Lost: the Big XII,” playing the part of the Smoke Monster is UT. A&M has been cast as Benjamin Linus.

Dan Beebe and a new TV contract may play the role of the obelisk, but make no mistake, the evil Smoke Monster is currently calling the shots on the Big XII island. And it is doing a masterful job as well. The Smoke Monster knows Benjamin Linus, the Smoke Monster has conned and manipulated Linus before, the Smoke Monster calls the shots, the Smoke Monster wreaks havoc across the island by flirting with other conferences, attempting to find an escape from Big XII island. But the Smoke Monster is crafty. He is able to use Benjamin Linus as his pawn to do his dirty work. Benjamin Linus holds the knife, Benjamin Linus stabs Jacob in the heart, Benjamin Linus is blamed for Jacob’s death. Benjamin Linus feels all the guilt. Meanwhile, on Big XII island, the Smoke Monster has the ability to become the hero, or attempted hero, no matter what, while cashing in huge. This Smoke Monster is superior to the Smoke Monster on the TV show. Let me explain.

UT wants more money. UT flirted with other conferences. UT can leave the Big XII. But the political fallout from killing the Big XII will be immense. So, UT cons A&M. UT acts as if it wants to save the inhabitants of Big XII island. (Baylor, Kansas, Kansas St, and Missouri can fight over who plays the parts of Claire and Sayid, they willingly would follow the Smoke Monster anywhere, even if he is not planning on bringing them off the island with him.) In order to maintain political clout in the state and psychological dominance over poor Benjamin Linus (A&M), The Smoke Monster (UT) gives the knife to Ben. Here’s the con. UT wants more money without being the bad guy. Leaving for the Pac-10 without at least acting as if they want to save the Big XII would be bad, so now that A&M appears to be close to going to the SEC, UT sets them up. The Smoke Monster claims good intentions: “I want to save everyone, I promise. But it’s out of my hands.” If A&M plunges the knife into the heart of Jacob, then A&M is the bad guy for causing the death of the Big XII and forcing the break-up of the conference. If UT forces A&M to stay, then UT is the savior of the Big XII, until a better opportunity becomes available, makes more money, and continues to psychologically dominate A&M. UT in fact, would become the flash-sport-sideways version of Jack Shepard, too. Only UT could play the role of Smoke Monster and Jack Shepard at the same time. (It can be maddening.) In “Lost: The Big XII,” A&M loses no matter what. If they leave, they are responsible for the Big XII’s demise. (And they will be trounced in the SEC.) If they stay, they are under the influence of the Smoke Monster. Either way, A&M cannot escape its inferiority to UT. UT has outplayed A&M, not just on the field this time, but in the political maneuvering. It’s another brilliant move by the Smoke Monster.

The one hope for A&M: it turns out Benjamin Linus had a soul after all. However, even after the Smoke Monster was gone, Linus still played second fiddle.

My 2010 Ranger Prediction

Lifelong Ranger fans have experienced more agony than triumph. We are constantly teased with “wait until next year,” “a bat away,” “look at all this pitching coming,” “DVD,” etc. For a while now, the organization has pointed to 2010 as the breakout year. With Hicks selling the team, young talent beginning to blossom, and a strong season in ’09, many prognosticators believe 2010 will be the Rangers’ year to claim the West. Nolan Ryan expects it, Josh Hamilton predicts it, local writers seem to hope for it. So will this be the fourth season the Rangers make the playoffs?

According to the late Johnny Oates, in order to make the playoffs, the starting rotation for a MLB team must average 15 wins per starter. In other words, a team’s starters should win 75 games. That total allows the bullpen realistically to pick up additional wins which will put the team into the playoffs. Looking over the stats of the three playoff teams, he’s pretty much right on. In 1996, the starting rotation (Hill, Pavlik, Witt, Oliver, Gross, and Burkett) had 77 wins, or 15.4 wins per pitcher in a 5 man rotation. That was arguably the best Ranger team in the last 20 years. The 1998 starters (Helling, Sele, Burkett, Oliver, Loaiza, Witt, and Stottlemeyer) won 71 games and the 1999 bunch (Helling, Sele, Burkett, Morgan, Clark, Loaiza, Glynn) won only 67. While those two teams won the division, the team was swept in the playoffs both years.

Last year, the starters earned 71 victories, but did not make the playoffs. While that 71 matches the 1998 team and exceeds the 1999 team, the West is much better now than it was 10 years ago. So I think Oates’ assessment that a good team will have 5 starters averaging 15 wins each is a good indicator of the team’s success. How will our starters fair this year? Here are my predictions:

Feldman – 16 wins. He had 17 wins last year. He may match that again, but I think he will be lucky to. While I can easily see him barely reaching 10, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he has found his groove.

Harden – 10 wins. In the past, Harden has been a great pitcher when healthy. However, he is never healthy. This spring, he has looked awful. I don’t expect much from him. Ten wins may be too optimistic. Hopefully, Nolan Ryan’s endurance will rub off on him, but I am not too hopeful.

Wilson – 8 wins. I have no confidence at all in this guy. He’ll pitch all year, so I assume he’ll pick up a few wins, but he will end the year with more losses than victories. 8-13.

Harrison – 8 wins. Will he stay healthy? Is he any good? I see him as a .500 pitcher.

Lewis – 7 wins. Are we really thinking a guy who had to go to Japan to find a job is suddenly going to be a great MLB pitcher?

Hunter – 12 wins. Hopefully he will get healthy and get back in the rotation soon, probably replacing a hurt Harden, an ineffective Wilson, or Lewis. He may be the team’s second best pitcher, but is currently hurt.

Total wins for starters: 61. Well short of Oates’ 75. Other spot starters might up this total to 65 or so, but still, I see the rotation short of ’09 totals and not strong enough to compete with Seattle or the Angels.

The shakiness of the rotation is only part of the problem. Kinsler is on the DL already. The catching situation is unsettled. Will Hamilton, Vlad, and Young hold up? Will Andrus have a sophomore slump? Will Chris Davis spend all year in the majors? Last year was exciting, and I am excited to see how they do this year, but realistically, I don’t see a winning team. Perhaps once the sale is official, the team can make a move or two to improve. Much will be answered in the first 20 games. Ron Washington’s teams have started slow every season. They (especially Washington) cannot afford a 7-13 start.

I am ready for the season and hope that in September I can look back at this post and be so wrong. But from my amateur assessment, I see the Rangers finishing 3rd in the division with an 79-83 record. Even so, I will be cheering for them all the way.

"C'mon You Guys Play Ball"

Next week, MLB will be in full swing. It’s a great time of year. Every team, except for the Nationals, is full of optimism. The beginning of the baseball season sparks life into every fan. How will the team do? What about the rookies and second year players? The free agents? Will they stay healthy? Hope is prevalent on Opening Day.

I’ve been thinking about memorable Ranger seasons. Two come to mind. The 1996 Rangers, the first team to go to the post-season, began the year 7-0. Will Clark, Kevin Elster, Rusty Greer, Pudge, Juan Gonzalez, Ken Hill, Roger Pavlik, Darren Oliver. The late, great Johnny Oates as manager. This was a good team – lacking a closer – which won Game 1 in the playoffs, thanks to the commanding performance of the professional bowler John Burkett, and then lost the next three to the dreaded Yankees. I still remember the gem Darren Oliver threw in Game 3, which ended in a 2-1 loss. Even with the disappointment in the post-season, which saw Mike Henneman blow saves, the 1996 Rangers remain my favorite bunch.

The other memorable Ranger team for me was the 1989 group. This was Nolan Ryan’s first year, as well as W’s first as owner, I believe. The team began 10-1. Finished the first month 17-6. (I remember this from the win-loss calendar I kept that year in my room, faithfully marking the team’s record after each game.) This was going to be the year. Ryan was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The team was on fire. So much so, that after the initial start, Y95’s morning show created a Ranger song, which will forever be in my memory:

Verse 1:
The Rangers are ready
It’s George instead of Eddie
And Tom and Bobby have a team that’s hot.

Nolan Ryan’s quite a lad
He makes the hitters mad
Three up, thee down, we go to bat and we’re really glad

Chorus:
We’re talking baseball
Bring on the boys of summer
Talking baseball
Let’s have some hits and runners
And when we see a homer clear the wall
We’ll know the boys have come to play some ball
Ranger baseball, c’mon you guys play ball.

Verse 2:
There’s Inky and Sierra
Don’t forget Toby Harrah
Along with Rafael and Buddy Bell

There’s Scooter and the Bue
Bobby Witt and Franco too
Charlie Hough’s on the hill and Cecil’s in centerfield.

Chorus:
We’re talking baseball
Bring on the boys of summer
Talking baseball
Let’s have some hits and runners
And when we see a homer clear the wall
We’ll know the boys have come to play some ball
Ranger baseball, c’mon you guys play ball.

Why that has stuck in my head all these years I’ll never know. But at the beginning of every season, it is on continuous loop in the recesses of my brain. This 1989 team which began 17-6, ended the season 83-79, well out of the playoffs. But still, a memorable season.

So will the 2010 team be a memorable one? Will they win the division? Will they start fast or slow? Will Ron Washington make it through the season? I’ll blog about all of that tomorrow.

I Must Be Doing Something Right

There are moments in my life as a father when I realize, “Maybe I’m doing a pretty good job.” Like when Grant began his love for Star Wars and his dislike for the Yankees. Another one of those moments came last night. Every year during March Madness, I help our kids fill out a bracket. This began when Grant was less than 1 year old. I would set two cheerios in front of him for each team, and whichever one he grabbed first would be his selection for that game. Thus began our yearly family bracketology.

So last night, we filled out brackets. For Claire, she loved picking teams that shared names with some of her friends; hence, Xavier, Murray St., Morgan St., and Siena go pretty far in her bracket this year. Tessa decided to pick the ones that sounded cutest. Even so, they’ll probably do better than me with their picks. But what really affirmed my fatherhood is what Grant did for his picks. We initially went through the bracket together. But right before bed, he decided to redo his picks, so he wanted to take a blank bracket to bed last night with him. So I printed it off, he grabbed a pen and went to his room. About an hour later, he called us in his room – he had thoughtfully and completely filled out his bracket, including the final score of the championship game! Success. I must be doing something right.

I'm Voting For Kay

In tomorrow’s Gubernatorial Election, I will cast my vote for Kay Bailey Hutchison. Over the coming years, Hutchison is the best person to lead the Texas Government to face such issues as education, immigration, and the budget. Additionally, I will support Hutchison because of the record Perry has amassed over the last 10 years as Governor. We have never had a Governor serve as long as he has (10 years), and now he wants four more. What exactly has Perry accomplished?

1. Perry overstepped his authority and mandated the HPV vaccine for 12 year old girls. Why? Because he received money from the pharmaceutical company that produces the vaccine and because he believes that he should have more power as Governor than the Texas Constitution gives him. Without consent of the legislature and with limited testing of the vaccine, Perry decided he knew better than parents and elected members of the Legislature in issuing his proclamation. Thankfully, the Legislature acted to stop his abuse of power.

2. He tried to pressure the Comptroller to certify a budget that wasn’t manageable and threatened to overstep the Constitution again by stripping the Comptroller’s power away from her. Again, while he campaigns as a small government guy, he has acted differently as Governor.

3. He said that Texas could secede from the Union. That kind of irresponsible comment should not be tolerated from an elected official who is the figurehead of the state.

4. He believes in using eminent domain to take land away from private landowners to build a roadway no one wants.

5. He received 39% of the vote in 2006, showing how few people actually supported the job he is doing as Governor. While the Republican nominee is likely to win in November, 39% should give Republicans pause.

The Texas Government has traditionally been a friendly government that steers clear of party ideology. Since Perry became Governor, partisanship in Austin has increased. While I think Perry will win the nomination tomorrow, I believe Hutchison would make the better leader for Texas. Unfortunately, the Governor who wants more control and power has somehow been able to convince others that he is for small government. He has run a successful campaign, but I feel that once 2011 is here, Perry will revert back to his controlling style. Meanwhile, I believe the last office Hutchison will seek is Texas Governor. She has no ambitions for higher office, which means she will be more interested in meeting the needs of Texans rather than trying to impress a national committee. So, I'm voting for Kay.

Bye, Bayh, For Now

My favorite elected Democrat is leaving the Senate. Evan Bayh has surveyed the political landscape, the Democratic Party, the current administration, and the state of Indiana and has decided not to seek reelection. I think Bayh is one of the few true moderate Democrats, and I believe him when he says how frustrated he is with partisan politics and the Senate. And while he took shots at Republicans, he also took a mighty swipe and President Obama when he confessed that the government has not created one job this year and that spending is out of control. So what will Bayh do now?

I hope he is gearing up for a run for the presidency in 2012. As he sees the self-destruction of the leftward moving Democratic Party under Obama and Pelosi, I think he may be seeking to bring the party back to the “Bill Clinton” center. He may not have the fight to do so, but if he mounted a challenge against Obama in 2012, he could definitely make it interesting. Depending on whom the Republicans nominate, I would strongly consider voting for Bayh in 2012. He seems like a decent guy who truly feels that the partisan politics of Washington and the movement of the Democratic Party to the far-left are highly detrimental to our country and our future. Bayh for President in 2012!

One Year Later

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, President Obama was inaugurated, the Republican Party was dead, and everything was George W. Bush’s fault. Obama’s approval rating was close to 70 percent. As the “moderate” candidate Obama became the “liberal” President, public opinion began to shift. After the 2008 Election, many pundits wondered if America, which traditionally has been a center-right country, had shifted to a center-left country. So what happened? The administration closed Guantanamo Bay and hired lawyers to defend terrorists. Delayed responding to the escalation of war in Afghanistan, and were caught off guard by Al Qaeda’s determination to attack the country. After campaigning on reducing abortions, Obama began funding abortions overseas with tax money. Meanwhile, unemployment had risen above 10 percent, even after the $800 billion stimulus which was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent. The Tea Parties across the country were laughed at and ridiculed. Purple Virginia and blue New Jersey elected Republican Governors. However, this was dismissed by the administration as merely the result of poor Democratic candidates. The Democratic Party and the President ignored the warning signs and pushed ahead with an unpopular health care bill. After campaigning on openness and transparency, the Obama administration became secretive, holding Democrat only meetings behind closed doors, paying off wary Senators in exchange for their votes. President Obama’s approval rating plummeted more than any other president in modern history. Yet, somehow, the American public was still ignored.

Then, in a stunning turn of events this week, the Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy in liberal Massachusetts, a state Obama won by 25 points last year, went Republican, electing Scott Brown as Senator. I still cannot fully wrap my mind around how stunning that is. The Republican Party, declared dead this time last year, won in Massachusetts of all places. Will the administration and Democrats ignore this too?

It appears so. In Robert Gibbs press conference yesterday, he tried to spin Brown’s election in Obama’s favor. Gibbs, Obama’s press secretary, tried to convince the American people that the vote in Massachusetts was not about Obama’s policies, but rather, the result of – get ready – what Bush had done to the country. In an interview yesterday, Obama believes the the same thing. Is he that delusional? Arrogant? Or just in denial and shock?

As we approach November and the mid-term elections, how will the Democratic Party respond? This may serve as a good wake-up call for them to take Clinton’s practical approach and move to the center before it’s too late. But Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are much more ideological than Bill Clinton was. The Democratic leadership continues to think one of two things: a.) they just simply aren’t explaining their plans well enough, or b.) the American people are stupid. If those remain their only two thoughts, then the Democratic Party is in for a major defeat come November. Yet to be seen is whether or not the Blue Dog Democrats are truly blue dogs and able to stand up against their liberal leadership. Evan Bayh, are you there?

As for the Republicans, Scott Brown laid out a great template for the campaign. Fight against spending and new taxes – attack terrorism instead of defending it – and allow states to decide for themselves what to do about many of these major issues such as health care. What Massachusetts proved last night, and what Virginia and New Jersey proved in November, and what the polls have said all along, is that this country is still a center-right country that values limited government and individual liberty. It will be interesting to see whether Obama and the Democrats understands this over the next few months.