Promoted from the diaries by James Richardson

The first presidential candidate I ever voted for was John McCain, and I’m willing to admit that, at the time, I definitely had some doubts about whether it was the right decision. This is partially because, having been born in New York and having witnessed the tail-end of his gentrification efforts, I was a Giuliani fan until he dropped out of the race (and therefore considered McCain an inferior pick for the Republican ticket), but also largely due to having lived on a college campus for a year and a half preceding the election. As a philosophy major, I’d wager that around 90% of my friends are liberal, and most of them are rather far-left by my reckoning. While I certainly still consider myself a conservative, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wind up doing a lot of thinking about whether my political views were truly what I believed.

Even as I cast my vote, I wasn’t so much worried about Obama winning in general — I had a feeling at the time that an Obama presidency was inevitable. What I was worried about was that Obama would get elected, and it would turn out that he was an excellent president, as so many of my friends seemed convinced that he would be. What if he got elected and fixed all of our problems: stopped the financial meltdown in its tracks, managed to stabilize the Middle East and facilitate a bloodless retreat of our armed forces — what if it wound up being a Democratic president who managed to get it all done?

Now, though, it’s safe to say that my vote of opposition was worth it, because by my reckoning, Barack Obama’s presidency has been disastrous up to this point. Joe Biden is as hilariously loose-lipped as I knew he would be as soon as Obama picked him, Gitmo remains open (which I don’t have a problem with, but whatever), we’re still in Iraq, don’t-ask-don’t-tell is still in effect, the economy is even worse (just how bad does it have to get before it gets better, Mr. President?)… I could go on and on, but if you read RedState regularly, these policy and moral failings and more have already been listed in detail for you.

So, thanks, President Obama. It’s been a bumpy ride, but you’ve helped remind me why I am what I am — a conservative Republican, and a very proud one to boot.

That’s one good thing your presidency has brought me, anyway.

[UPDATE]: Hi, Instapundit readers. I covered some of what Glenn mentioned in a podcast today with Fausta, actually. Pretty much my first one ever.

Now, that’s Hunter Biden, corporate lobbyist and former Amtrak vice-chair, not Beau Biden, former state attorney general - and widely-assumed heir-in-exile to his father’s Senate seat, just as soon as they can have the formality of an election in 2010. Heaven forbid that you get these two scions of a good working class family mixed up, or something.

Speaking of getting mixed up in something, hey!

A fund of hedge funds run by two members of Vice President Joe Biden’s family was marketed exclusively by companies controlled by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who is facing Securities and Exchange Commission accusations of engaging in an $8 billion fraud.

The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens’ Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and a Stanford Financial Group entity and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund. Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, according to a lawyer for Paradigm. Paradigm Global Advisors is owned through a holding company by the vice president’s son, Hunter, and Joe Biden’s brother, James.

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(Via Hot Air Headlines) Why, what could possibly go wrong?

Obama Taps Biden to Oversee Stimulus Package Implementation

President Obama has turned to his own vice president to oversee implementation of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, part of which will be available this week for state Medicaid programs.

Obama announced his decision before the National Governors Association in Washington on Monday, saying Vice President Joe Biden will help ensure the distribution of the money is not just swift, “but also efficient and effective.”

“The fact that I’m asking my vice president to personally lead this effort shows how important it is for our country and future to get this right,” he said.

Well, that, or it shows how important it is for your administration and your future to make sure that what is not going to be a universally beloved program six months from now - to put it mildly - is publicly linked with chains of unbreakable steel to, well, Joe Biden. However, I don’t think that you’ve made it clear enough that you don’t want to be tied to this sucker. May I suggest a moat filled with burning gasoline and maybe some apotropaic symbols burned into the walls?

Moe Lane

Crossposted at Moe Lane.