My Mis-speak

I misquoted Sarah Palin, as admirably pointed out by Melanie Phillips.
It wasn't "change-thingy" it was "hopey-changey thing."
I think you'll agree there is a big difference. You have to give people hope to make change possible.
More importantly, what were ordinary voters actually wanting? As Palin says "How’s that hopey-changey thing workin’ out for you?’ she asked at one point. She blasted [Obama] for rising deficits, ‘apologizing for America’ in speeches in other countries, and for allowing the so-called Christmas bomber to board a plane headed for the United States, saying he was weak on the war on terrorism. ‘To win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law,’ she declared."
The three strands here are what made Reagan and Maggie Thatcher so great.
In America, you better make sure 1) the US is top dog 2) They can live in peace and quiet with the right to gun down each other if they want to ( but not be gunned down by anyone else) 3) You not only act tough but are tough and 4) as Frank Burns said in Mash " We're American. Everybody else better get used to it." I know that's 4, but hey maybe its only 2 as 1,3 & 4 are pretty interchangeable.
Obama hasn't fulfilled any of these criteria, not least making the US top dog. But that core conservative agenda of defending life, liberty and social order (which in turn offers the best chance of success in the pursuit of happiness) is largely scorned by all parties.
And if parents would only make their children say please and thank you from day one, as Nanny Frost says, 99% of our problems in this area would disappear.