When I woke up this morning, the birds were still singing. Of course, their taxes won't go up. The sun was still shining- although, I've always thought it was a socialist. The sky, as I suspected was still blue. Though depressed, I've resigned myself not to act like the Democrats have acted for the past eight years. As always, I'll call 'em the way I see 'em. That's one thing that won't change. If Obama flips and decides to tack to the center- I'll tell you. However, now that he has won, the course  will likey be "left full rudder" for the immediate future.

The question that lingers is what will change? I'm not talking about President elect Obama's plans for government. We've debated that for years. I am talking about what will change in the Republican party. While this election was not the complete disaster that left predicted, it was bad. How do we regroup?

The first thing we need to do is count our losses. As I write this we actually did better than expected in both the House and Senate. So far, we lost only 5 seats in Senate, and 15 seats in the house. This is 4 seats short of the Democrats Senate goal, and 10 seats short of their goal in the House. This is proof that no matter how the major media sells this, there is no left wing mandate. There is, however, a foundation for the GOP to build upon.

The foundation must be built on Republicans such as Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Michelle Bachman. They share something besides their conservative values. Youth. We as Republicans need to shake the perception that we are the party of, and for, elderly white guys. We need to get back to being the proper stewards of low taxes and cuts in spending. We need to offer a vision of a strong, safe, economically vibrant America. I fear that the left turn the nation has taken is not consistent with that vision. We need to offer ideas- not rhetoric. That will be the beginning of true change- and something neither party offered in this election cycle.

I mentioned youth above. I'm not taking a cheap shot at Sen. McCain. Age does seem to be more of an issue now than it was back in the eighties. Looking back at the last 5 Presidential elections there has been a trend. Clinton beat Bush. Clinton beat Dole. Bush's primary victory over McCain. Obama's primary victory over Clinton and general election victory over McCain. The political landscape has been undergoing a youth movement- and we ignored it in this election cycle. It's not the only reason Sen. McCain lost, but it is a contributing factor. We must, as sports fans say, go young.

I also mentioned some other things. We must take the lead in balancing the budget- again. To do this we must work with the "blue dog" democrats. This will be in direct opposition to the Obama/Pelosi/Reed faction within the Democratic party. This not only provides the nation with a much needed balanced budget, but it also splits the blue dog faction (nominally lead by Jim Webb) from the extreme left leadership. This is one area where we can and must work with the center of the Democratic party. It's good for the nation and a good political move.

Taxes. We are not likely to get a lot of help from the blue dogs on this. We must remain the opposition party on this. Obama's taxes will devastate the small business sector. We have to let them know that we are on their side. When Joe the plumber has to lay off Joe the apprentice because he can't afford to keep him on, we will need to be there for them. Unfortunately, we don't have the votes to prevent this- but we must speak out and offer alternatives that will grow business. This must be the foundation of our economic policy- we need to convince the middle class that we are trying to create jobs for them. We will also need to point out what the left has done. These economic figure should become readily apparent in time for the next mid term elections. We need to have ready a plan that cuts taxes on the middle class and all small business. This will drive the economy forward.

A strong defense. Obama has promised to leave troops in Iraq. This is a good start. He will reduce their number, redeploying troops to Afghanistan. We must ensure that he listens to the field commanders. If he does not, the right must hold him accountable foe each and every failure in Iraq. As President Bush leaves office, he has all but won the war in Iraq. If Obama manages to snatch defeat form the jaws of victory, he must take the blame for that defeat.

The biggest risk on defense is that the president elect will often defer, as opposed to making a decision. As president, you can't vote "present".  As a war president, this course of action will cost Americans their lives. President Obama must be decisive with our enemies- not being caught up in endless rounds of negotiations. Such negotiations will only weaken us. When this does happen, Republicans must step up and be heard. With time, the results of such negotiations will become obvious. We must be willing to offer advice and council. We also must be willing to remind the electorate of such advice and council during the mid terms.

In closing, this is not the disaster that it could have been. The left did not get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, and there is a faction of Democrats that will be inclined to work with us on some issues. We have two years to make our case, and point out the danger of the path that the president elect has laid out. We need to be positive, not bitter. Once we do this, we will be able to set course to a brighter future for America. A future that will create jobs- not a nanny state. A future that will keep America safe and strong, without giving credibility to the leftist thugs that the Obama administration is likely to negotiate with. In short, a better future for us all.