I think that pretty much sums it up in a nut shell. No use in crying over spilled milk.

I agree there's a lot we can do to help our fellow man while we prepare for a real change in 4 years!

Very well said,Sarge!!

Shorter: Don't whine--do [take stock, volunteer, etcetera].

On the "respite" from the election cycle: While I'd like to believe it'll be 4 years before the nonsense starts again, it actually starts again in one--when the House starts campaigning for the mid-terms in 2014. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am a little ray of sunshine. It is the truth, though--and Speaker Boehner knows it. That's why he's begun taking down the ramparts and is reaching across the aisle now.

 Obama is getting a "do over" aka his second term as president.  How many other presidents would be allowed a "do over"??!!!! I"m still very baffled and disturbed over how well loved this man really is.. with the media and his supporters.  So much has been spilled onto a huge table, but he continues to be worshipped as this incredible leader.  He's a wolf in sheep clothing.  The people he's been associated with, the lies and coverup with Libya on 9/11/12.  I could go on and on.  

His re-election was like winning the biggest popularity contest there is.  I just don't freaking get it.  I didn't vote for him.  Thank God this will be his last term.  As for answering your question Sarge, I"m extremely disappointed Obama was re-elected.  This is the biggest FAIL and mistake.  We've got to stand strong and stand united.  I"m worried sick over the next four years, plus the future of our children and their children.  Bless their hearts for what they have inherited.  May God have mercy upon us.

TheSarge says ...

On a global scale, we are a desperate nation. We just don't know it yet.

We get glimpses of our fiscal weakness in quick flashes of lucidity.

We aren't circling the drain, but we are in the sink. Americans are resilient. But even resilient to only a certain degree.

Check your tax liability at the end of the year. You will be surprised.

Bump!  I am middle class, as many of us are... Obama says I won't get taxed?  HA!  What a joke...

But you are right Sarge.. we as Americans need not to just talk, but walk - so to speak; be proactive and hopefully things will turn out ok.

if all the peoples and companies that donated there money to super pacts had used it to creat jobs then things would have been getting better before the elections

The media is so incredably biased toward Obama is just isn't funny anymore.  For those paying attention the Dow Jones dropped over 300 points yersterday and the Huffington Post it wasn't due to Obama's being reelected, though less biased sources say it was a direct result of the election.  Mostly the same crooks, be they Republician or Democrats, were voted back in do don't expect any change.  Get ready for a tax hike and higher unemployment, there are massive layoffs coming in Janruary and a tax hike that includes the middle class.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-blanchard/things-liberals-might-learn-from-conservatives_b_2088664.html

Things Liberals Might Learn From Conservatives 

by Kate Blanchard

Those of us feeling relieved or triumphant about the 2012 election results might be tempted to gloat about it. That's natural. Especially with regard to, say, people who dismiss 47 percent of the nation, or men who pretend to know God's will about rape and pregnancy, a little schadenfreude may seem to be just the thing. But in the spirit of humility and introspection, and with respect for those among my fellow humans who are convinced that something terrible has just happened, I am taking this opportunity to reflect instead on what lessons liberals might learn from religious, social and fiscal conservatives. Here's a short list:

Abortion is not "just" a medical procedure like any other.

There is a tendency in pro-choice rhetoric to trivialize a fertilized egg, or even a six-month fetus, as if it were akin to a mole or a kidney. The religious right certainly fails by refusing to recognize any moral difference between a fertilized egg and a fully grown woman, or between a "morning after" pill and a "partial birth" abortion. But we on the pro-choice side are foolish to think that we can easily dismiss the meaning of potential human life without also discounting pregnancy and human life in general. It is not necessary to view an embryo as "sacred" to realize the wisdom of being more cautious about giving it no moral value at all. Pregnancy is not like anything else, and it has no ready-made parallels.

Entitlements without responsibility are toxic.

Republicans often remind me of the obedient brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who complains loudly when his father graciously welcomes his unworthy brother home. "Democrats just want stuff for free," I hear them saying, "they don't deserve it!" Such whining is annoying because it unfairly caricatures every single American who gets social security or food stamps as a lazy bum, as if Republicans have forgotten that there is a horrific job shortage out there. But there is indeed something ennobling about work, and something degrading about feeling like a victim or choosing to let other people take care of you if you can do it yourself (as every parent knows). This is not a matter of "teaching someone to fish," but rather about nuancing our sense of the interplay between systemic problems and individual agency. It's never one or the other, but always both.

Not all sex is good sex.

While I find supposedly "biblical," one-man-one-woman arguments beyond ridiculous, I nevertheless appreciate the reminder from conservatives that sex is not a purely private matter. Our individual sexual behaviors have consequences not just for us and our families, but also for our communities and even our world. We are shaping culture all the time, even as culture shapes us; our sexual choices, no less than our consumer choices, have a ripple effect. It is therefore not a waste of time to have public conversations about what constitutes good sex, and to put some restrictions on what we as a society consider bad sex. Most of us probably take for granted that, for example, rape and pedophilia are evils, but since such laws aren't written in the sky for all to see, it will always be up to us as a society to define them as crimes. To do so, we must be able to account for why. Which brings me, finally, to...

Religion is not a purely private matter.

Folks on the left love to complain about folks on the right who "politicize" religion. But what is religion if it not political? It intersects, both philosophically and practically, with every aspect of human life -- money, food, family, bodies, war, the earth. It is one thing to claim that religion is not partisan (i.e., there are Christians, Muslims, etc. on every side of any divisive political issue), but another to insist that politicians and voters should leave their religion at home. That's like saying politicians and voters should leave their worldviews at home -- something which would defeat the purpose of having elections for policymakers to represent us in the first place. The non-establishment of religion is not the same as insisting that everyone be a blank slate when it comes to public life.

Though the political climate is too full of venom to allow for much meaningful dialogue, I think we should keep trying. It's in our best interests not just as Americans, but as beings who share a common humanity -- created in the image of God, some say, or at the very least, equal in our final vulnerability and submission to death. Demonizing one another obscures the fact that we're all stuck in this together, whatever we think "this" is. I can't tell conservatives how to feel after the elections, but I would urge my proud liberal comrades (after a wee bit of celebrating) to consider the moral hazards of absolutizing privacy and individual choice at the expense of community and the common good. Every pro is a con; every win is a loss. It's never a waste of time to think about what is lost when "we" win elections.

Bump all, who realize the word 'compromise' is not a dirty word, but the word 'politician' is!

snhadley says ...

Bump all, who realize the word 'compromise' is not a dirty word, but the word 'politician' is!

Compromise is only good when it is for the good of the country. . . . .NEVER good when it is for the good of a party!

Well, now that the smoke has cleared (thanks!), I will have to get in my "dig":

http://joashline.com/2012/11/presidential-election-sad-and-tragic-day-for-our-nation.html

Read it all (it continues after the jarring pics) before commenting. :)

Well, not exactly the point of that essay, but that's cool.

Here's a couple more entitlement program enactments or massive expansions by presidents:

Nixon: food stamps

Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr: earned income tax credit

As far as gamesmanship and "gotchya" goes, I'd like to say: Is it really too much to ask to keep those especially susceptible to gotchyas out of the White House? ;) (Yes, yes--Biden's bad, but IMO he still mostly manages to confine his gaffes to the type that only grab headlines for a day or two at most.)

OMG.........It's the official Democolypse!!  

..........and WHY am I so sure, I heard it on FOX!

In other news, MSNBC reports that their are thousands of women being seen running out of their binders screaming.......FREEDOM!

Sighs.....

In my opinion there are no two sides to "facts", especially ones edited by our hard hitting "News" orgs such as the two I've mentioned. Follow the money, there's a reason they call it "programming".

Sounds good to me.,I'm casting my lot with the ticket of Ronnie W.Reagan and Hary S. Truman.I see that Holder may be leaving.Oh Boo Hoo.Guess we can call back Janet Reno and she can send all the rest of the little six year old Cuban boys back to a Communist country at gunpoint.

Cedardale says ...

I am a pessismist as I  think there will be no compromise, Republicians and Democrats will both blame the 'other side' when we go over the fiscal cliff in Janruary.  Democrats will say Republicians failed to compromise when tax hikes take effect on all classes of taxpayers, and Republicians will say Democrats failed to compromise by pushing  for tax hikes on the rich (read small business as well).  Since all comgress are secure in their jobs for the next 2 years, and even if not relected they get a taxpayer funded pension that is unbelievably generous.  Sure hope I am proved wrong.

Bump!  But it will probably end as you stated! So sad but true!