Pity the conservatives

I actually feel a little sorry for conservatives, right now. They're deeply scared. Talk radio hosts and campaign ads have been telling them for weeks that the man we just elected president is a Socialist terrorist who will destroy our economy, take away all of our guns, and allow us to be nuked by Iran. They're afraid for their country right now. They also feel trapped. As liberals, if we're feeling panicky about the state of the nation, we can always fantasize about emigrating to Canada or any number of other liberal democracies. Conservatives have no such safety valve; I mean, where would they go that's more conservative?

A lot of them are also feeling a sense of shock. They really thought they would win. Right-wing news outlets were talking up McCain's chances of victory, and so was McCain himself. People whose news came only from those sources didn't see this one coming.

It will take them a while to realize that Obama isn't a tenth as radical as they've been led to believe. You're going to see a lot of unhinged, intolerant ranting from the right for the next couple of weeks. It's best to pay it no mind. These people are venting because they're afraid of the imaginary monster the right-wing pundits have constructed and labeled with a nametag that says "Obama." I'm sure there will always be a strong, seething anger, like was directed at Clinton, because conservatives fundamentally believe that Democrats have no legitimate claim to power. The current level of venom, however, is not likely to last.