Well, the derailment of the McCain Train, and many more GOP congressional seats, has come to pass. The Obama change-mongers did it and did it well. So ends an election that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The Obama folks got the change they demanded in spades. And it hurts to be a Republican right now, take my word for it.

It is my firm view that – putting aside my personal partisan persuasions to the extent that is possible – it is one of the greatest tragedies in the history of American politics that Senator John McCain was never elected president, throughout his long political career. It would have been the culmination of a truly special life. He is a bona fide American hero, a great man and arguably the most qualified presidential candidate since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.

Because of his age, this year was his last shot. To his credit, he miraculously snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the primaries to earn the Republican nomination. In the end, the sour political environment simply proved too hostile against President Bush and the GOP in general for McCain to squeak out a win, given that he is of the same partisan affiliation. These forces were out of his control. Nevertheless, history will remember the man fondly, that I can promise.

That is not to take anything away from President-elect Obama’s victory. It is already almost a cliché to say that it was an historic triumph, because it was. It marks one more step forward in mending the most glaring social cleavage in America: the racial divide. In all sincerity, I congratulate Obama and his supporters for doing so. History, in this regard, will remember Obama fondly. But the real historical challenges lie ahead.

I do think Obama is sincere when he speaks of his intent to unite America and in his calls for bipartisanship. It is my grave concern, however, that Democrat members of Congress will not echo these sentiments and will thus yield to their temptations to move our country to the left. Which is disconcerting considering the leftist congressional leadership will have immense leverage with their gains in both the House and Senate. But bottom line, Obama is about to become the most powerful man in the world, and therefore he and he alone will have to decide the extent to which he allows a liberal Congress to influence him.

There is also chatter from certain pundits that a partisan realignment away from the Republicans might have just transpired before our eyes, thereby shifting our country from the center-right to the center-left on the national political spectrum.

I fundamentally disagree with this blather. Forty-six percent of voters still went for McCain, and the outcome was closer than the final electoral count might appear at first glance.

In the final analysis, the majority of voters were merely disenchanted with an unpopular incumbent president and consequently “threw the rascals out” with a vengeance, but only after the financial crisis tipped the scales once and for all. The Obama campaign successfully tied McCain to the incumbent “rascals,” and McCain got thrown out with Bush’s political party. Such retrospective decision-making by voters has been a recurring theme in presidential politics regardless of which party is in power, and it does not indicate a national realignment.

And don’t mistake good sportsmanship on my behalf as an extension of the olive branch to the American left. “In Defeat: Defiance” was Winston Churchill’s modus operandi, and that surely will be the posture of the Republican Party for the next four years, albeit after some much-needed alterations in their prevailing political approach.

Here is a fair warning – and I suppose political advice – to the Democrats: You had better not rest on your laurels. And with the absence of a true realignment, you certainly had better not attempt to push through every piece of your liberal agenda, which would shift taxpayers’ dollars away from our national defense toward more social welfare entitlement programs. Because if you succeed, it would prove detrimental to our short-term and long-term national security, as the barbarians are still at the gates whether you choose to believe it or not. Furthermore, it would transform America – the land of freedom, innovation, opportunity, and dreams – into a cradle-to-grave welfare state.

Democrats ought to heed this advice (although I doubt Speaker Pelosi is a frequent reader of the Daily Campus), because when Republicans receive a shellacking, we don’t move to France a la Johnny Depp and his Hollywood cohort. Rather, Republicans fall back, regroup, and counterattack with overwhelming force in the next election. And if Obama’s mandate for change overcompensates to the left, it will only teach the American people the hard way that change is not always for the better.

President-elect Obama could start by making his first decision one of continuity and not change. He should retain the highly effective Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and not deprive him of the tools he needs to do his job.

Chris Barton is a senior political science and finance double major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].