I would't presume to be that intelligent 'n quick-witted.
I have to say that I find Schlafly's column quite ill-timed. And I will add that when I worked at Bush/Cheney HQ's in 2000, people there were actually reading her columns.
I don't know why anyone would now. Makes one wonder who is pushing who away.
1. To those for whom less than perfect is not enough. I'm sorry. You have chosen a difficult, often lonely, way to live your life. I can give a laundry list of things I wish the President would or could work on. It would be different than yours, but it would still be a "I haven't gotten mine" list. But I refuse to let that color my perceptions to the point that progress, movement in the right direction can not be appreciate, celebrated and enjoyed. All that does is set a person up to be perpetually living for something that will most likely never happen, and certainly not in your lifetime.
2. To those who think carping today will change hearts and minds. Give it up. It's bad strategy to try to diminish a win. It only hardens positions and gets you no where fast. It's stupid. If you don't like the President's policies, you need to win on facts. You need to win by convincing others based on principle. Kicking people when they are up just makes them mad, and causes them to distrust you. Kicking them when they are down makes them fight harder. In fact, kicking is usually a stupid idea. Keep to the policy and it's importance and why...and you just might make progress. Or don't. Depends on how badly you want it to happen.
3. To those who think it makes them look smart to dislike the "stupid" President.Smarter people than you have been severely burned by that attitude. It does not make you look smart, or principled, or brilliant. It makes you look doltish. You can choose.
4. To those who wish the third party or libertarian conservatives would just "go away." We actually need them. They keep us honest. They hold our feet to the fire, remind us of our principles, help keep us from becoming more interested in the team winning than the ideas. They shouldn't run off common sense, but they are a good measure of our principles. I appreciate that.
5. To those who think the border control is the only issue and we just need to build a fence. It is a very old, complicated issue that has spanned over 100 years. Building a fence is not the answer. I have been doing a lot of research on the topic, and despite claims there is NOT an easy answer. Not then, less now. We are not going to go back to the fifties. The world is changing. It is smaller. We need to deal with this with a market based solution. If this is your only issue, and all is lost without the President locking the doors and unceremoniously kicking everyone out int he middle of the night, I respectfully suggest that you pull back a bit and look at the bigger picture. It just isn't EVER going to happen period. If you can not grasp that, you will be frustrated and disappointed for the rest of your lives EVEN IF TOM TANCREDO became President. Good luck with that.
6. To those who think the President can do no wrong. He can. He is human. Support him 100%, but be honest enough to disagree with him where you do. It will help him, it will help you. It will help America. It's hard sometimes when we are backed into a corner, but honesty is best for all of us.
7. To those who think Pollyanna's have unrealistic expectations and are sugary sweet people who don't see the world as it actually is.You're wrong. Pollyanna was not perfect, nor did she expect perfection. She saw the world as it was, hard, cold and ugly. Her strength was that she wanted people to use what they had, to find the advantages for themselves DESPITE their situations; to always look for ways to further a goal, no matter what hindrances one faces; to be grateful for the blessing you do have, rather than concentrate on the things you do not. Some find that grating and unrealistic. I call it learning to win.
.....And, if you don't like it—Tough. Ignore us. You are the kind of people that will never accomplish much, or really change the world for the better. Oh, you might make a big splash for awhile. People will start to grouse, and you will feel pretty good about yourself. But then, a Ronald Reagan, or a GW Bush (Pollyannas both) will come along and offer your minions a more positive, happier, hopeful world view. And suddenly, you will find yourself loosing over and over again. And your name will be Democrat. I prefer the quintessential American quality of optimism. Of pollyannism. I chose this world view. It made my life better. Deal with it.
/rant
OK, now who is looking forward to a really positive, tough SOTU tonight attended (I hope) with the newly sworn in Judge Alito?