President-elect Barack Obama. Those are difficult words for a conservative to say. Obama ran a brilliant campaign. He defied all odds — from his lack of experience, to what some believed was the obstacle of his race. That America would elect a person of color to the White House 45 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have  A Dream” speech ought to make us all proud that we are Americans.

Dr. King said people should be judged by the content of their character. We will soon learn — as will those who mean us harm in the world — the strength of Obama’s character. As a strong pro-lifer it grieves me in the extreme that Obama has promised the radical pro-abortionists he will sign “The Freedom of Choice Act,” which will strike down the few restrictions on abortion in this country. Fifty million babies and counting is a horrible price to pay for someone’s “choice.” Pro-lifers must redouble their efforts through pregnancy centers to get the truth to pregnant women that there are far better alternatives than abortion.

First Amendment purists, who have argued against restrictions on pornography and flag-burning as infringements of free speech and expression, will now try to re-instate the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” which was made for another media era in which there were far fewer information outlets. Clearly the Democrats pushing this modern form of censorship are targeting conservative talk radio hosts and certain cable news channels. They are led by New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.

Obama could not have won without Republican help.

It was the first time in fifty years that Republicans lose congressional seats in two straight elections, proof of the public’s disgust with a party that promised reform and change in 1994, only to become part of the problem and not the solution. Republicans will not so much need to re-invent themselves, as they need to return to their principles and sell them less on the basis of ideology than on what works. For too long, Republicans have tried to “out compassion” Democrats.  But the public figures why should they accept “Democrat-lite” when they can have the real thing?

The culture wars and old Republican men of the past must be retired. Republicans must respond to Barack Obama with new and younger leaders and ideas that appear to be new while founded on principles that work, if tried. If only Republicans had tried them they wouldn’t be in this position.