Seven post-election questions asked

In another posting I gave my input on what we're likely to see in the next few years, after Barack Obama's election as president and equally stunning victories for Democrats all over.
But I'm not alone in this guess-the-future game. Jennifer Rubin, a writer for pajamasmedia.com, posed seven interesting questions soon after Tuesday's groundbreaking election.

Here are Rubin's questions, along with my own comments:

= Will Obama be a moderate centrist or liberal extremist?

(My take: The latter, whether he wants to or not. But his voting record in the Senate was liberal enough without thhe help of the folks running the houses of Congress.)

= Who will get the blame for the Republican wipeout?

(My take: There are plenty of possibilities here, and already Sarah Palin is getting consideration as scapegoat of the year -- have you seen the news reports on her lately? But if I was to place blame, I'd have to lay it at George Bush's feet. Although he tried to stay out of the way during the campaign, that wasn't enough, and Obama got a lot of mileage in trying to portray McCain as another Bush.)

= What will the Republican minority do now?

(My take: Not much. The minority will try to choose its fights, but it'll be like trying to put a duck in a cockfight. Not pretty.)

= Will continuity or change be the watchword in our national security policy?

(My take: This will be interesting, and a lot will depend on who Obama chooses for Secretaries of State and of Defense. And there were several names mentioned by the Associated Press. Some scuttlebutt has Obama keeping Robert Gates in charge of Defense. And among those mentioned for State is Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican from Indiana. Although Lugar clearly rode the short bus to charisma school, he's brilliant. He knows international affairs; in fact off the straight credentials he'd be the best choice. And Obama said he'd try to reach across party lines for some of his cabinet.)

= Who becomes the Republican frontrunner for 2012?

(My take: Several contenders here ... but none that will capture the imagination like Obama did the Democrats. Palin's a maybe, though she has a lot of baggage after the recent campaign. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is intriguing. Mitt Romney is the likeliest, though he probably shot his wad in the '04 primaries. Too bad my man, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- who feeds his jail inmates corn dogs and issues them pink underdrawers -- is probably not going to run for the White House. A tragedy, that.)

= Will there be a crack-up of the conservative punditocracy?

= What will happen with the mainstream media?

(My take: Excellent question. The mainstream media, truth be told, did not do its job during this campaign. In fact, it did the public a grave disservice. But I've seen that coming for years.)