Pascal, when G.W. Bush was governor of Texas, he earned a reputation of being a uniter of the two parties in the state legislature and he vowed to continue that spirit in Washington – which he did, no matter how many times he got clobbered for his efforts. And that whole compassionate conservatism thing – well, that seems to have ended up as just the opening the libs needed to get us onboard for the giveaways. For Bush, clinging to the status-quo meant he didn’t want to tarnish his image or reputation for bi-partisanship, I think. But he was never a true conservative anyway, just what passes for one these days. The real problem may just be the sea-change in people’s beliefs.

In the public arena, as has been noted before, real conservatism is pretty much confined to the blogosphere and talk radio and only an occasional legislator like Sen. James Inhofe. Real conservatism, along with real Christianity, offers the best opportunity for the country to be rightly guided, but neither one is exactly widely esteemed these days. BTW, your interest in applying religious principles to the secular world’s problems is very intriguing.

If America wins a reprieve, what then? Well, if McCain wins, then I think our system of government will have won a reprieve, viz., the trend toward socialism will have hit a snag. I will breathe a sigh of relief and hope that the future brings new leaders who’ll restore conservatism’s luster. But although it seems like so much hangs on this election, I still have the feeling that no matter who wins, time has speeded up and is rushing us toward – ugh, I hate to say ‘destiny.’ But I don’t know what else to call it. The judgment of the nations?