In the days leading up to the election, Barack Obama was the candidate who wanted to balance the budget, cut taxes for 95% of working Americans, and provide universal health care. He made these promises notwithstanding the financial crisis, and subsequent bailout.

Obama has not even taken his oath of office, and he is already distancing himself from his campaign promises. Several news sources report that Obama will now focus on providing a huge stimulus package that could cost as much as $700 billion over two years. There are vague promises of spending cuts accompanying this proposed stimulus, and the details of his campaign tax plan are now in flux. Earlier promises of a balanced budget seem destined for the back burner.

What has changed since Election Day? We are in the midst of a financial and economic crisis, just as we were in the weeks leading up to the election. The real difference is that Obama must govern, and his pledges were designed to secure an election and not to secure economic recovery. His promises to balance the budget, cut taxes and provide universal health care are as untenable today as they were last month, and he has no choice but to reverse course.

Don’t get me wrong-- I am delighted that President elect Obama is retreating from many of his impractical ideas. Tax hikes, like the ones supported by Obama just a few weeks ago, would devastate the economy. So would the taxes he would need to levy to support his myriad spending proposals while balancing the budget.

But the President elect’s new affection for truly staggering levels of government spending, undoubtedly supported by increased borrowing, raises many questions that should give us all pause.

Can we afford another $700 billion in spending, especially if is it spent over two years? What effect will this stimulus have on the deficit? Can we continue to saddle American taxpayers with more and more debt without there being consequences? Where will the Democratic Congress and The White House set future taxes, and should we expect some old fashion taxing and spending to accompany the current round of spending and borrowing? What happens if this $700 billion in spending, like the last, fails to stimulate the economy?

The sooner we know the answers to these questions, the sooner we will know the precise intentions of President elect Obama, and the sooner the economy will regain a sense of certainty. Until then, “change” could very well mean that our President will change his mind on the issues every few weeks or so.

Obama offering Clinton the position of secretary of state exemplies the notion of keeping your friends close and your enemies -- not just close -- but under your thumb. The last thing Barack Obama wants is a supercharged Hillary Clinton potentially causing trouble in the Senate. (The last thing Hillary wants is to be under a man's thumb, I thought). If she accepts the job, she's shackled to his Administration, which is smart if he wants to fend off attacks from the Clintons in 2012 -- a win for Obama and Democratic Party unity.

It's all politics, shrewd politics. So is Obama's upcoming meeting with John McCain. The President elect ran on bi-partisanship. Now the onus is on him to deliver. But most importantly, he wants shore up two terms early. And he can do that by mollifying his detractors and appeasing potential opponents.

If Hillary doesn't accept the job she looks like a sore loser, unwilling to cooperate. But Obama is smart enough not to publicly ask her without knowing she'll accept.

I'm not sure why she would want the position. Sure it's prestigious, but if she signs on Obama will own her. She will serve at his pleasure. In the Senate, nobody owns Hillary, especially now. She is poised to assume the role of lioness in the Senate in Ted Kennedy's absence. And secretary of state may seem old hat for the former First Lady. She likely considered herself Madeline Albright's boss when Bill was Commander in Chief.

To the Senator's credit, she is the most hawkish out of the names being floated thus far.

My hunch is the Clintons have already brokered a deal with President elect Obama. The question is, is this it?

The next generation of the Republican Party is Governor Sarah Palin, despite the political malpractice of the McCain camp, and the current rumblings of the old guard (emphasis on old) of the GOP establishment.
 
In this year's election she was our most valuable player, and like any MVP her political athletic ability is a force to be reckoned with. She has youth on her side which will make her viable for the next two decades (at least). She posesses the supernatural ability to draw tens of thousands to a rally.  Her fundraising potential is boundless and her biography is politically seductive. 
 
She is slightly damaged from the Presidential election, not by anything she did, which is why it is possible to overcome the hurdles, the naysayers and heal her two biggest bruises:
 
First, the one trick ponies on the McCain campaign tried to staff her as they did George W. Bush: as a propped up, stilted, artificial attack dog and full throated conservative, because McCain needed that base to succeed. But this is not the real Sarah Palin.  Most Alaskans will vouch for that, especially the Republicans.
 
Palin is a populist powerhouse who has spent years taking on her own party's corruption. She seemingly works better with Democrats to put points on the board for the benefit of her state rather than get locked in the partisan gridlock and posturing that cripples male politicians. She is razor sharp and savvy when it comes to maneuvering. (Too bad she outmaneuvered her McCain handlers too late).
 
Second, Team McCain was fairly anemic when it came to assets this election cycle, but one thing they did have on their side was time. Instead of choosing Palin earlier in the summer which would have given her weeks for preparation on issues like national security and the economy, they shoved her into the fray before she spent sufficient time grappling with complex national issues. Imagine the Couric murder board taking place in early summer and not late fall?
 
Time is now on her side. Here's what she needs to do:
 
Give major policy speeches. She dazzles the audience when she addresses the energy issue. This is a logical starting point.
 
Campaign and fundraise on behalf of Republicans. It will be imperative for her to build an army of allies. The next RNC Chair should be her first priority.
 
Begin to harness the power of her grassroots support. I'm fairly certain Palin doesn't have access to the McCain fundraising and grassroots lists of this past election, which is why she needs to create her own. Palin has millions of Americans at her beck and call. She needs to start organizing this asset by collecting names, emails and phone numbers.
 
Write a book (on substance, not moose chili). It's time to get serious. The snowmobiling was cute for a while but the current state of our nation requires thoughtful policy and real deal solutions. We're faced with crisis of ethics. As someone who cleaned up Alaska, she should write about the lessons she learned and apply them to kitchen table concerns.
 
Get some ink in her passport. Obama has very little but was somehow inoculated from criticism after he took a highly publicized trip east. She should do the same, frequently.
 
Do a weekly radio address. The topics should be major issues of national importance.  She should do the research and writing herself.
 
Appoint herself to the US Senate. If Seantor Ted Stevens is elected -- and then kicked out of the Senate by his colleagues as is widely expected, which can be accomplished with a simple majority vote -- Stevens' temporary replacement would be appointed by Governor Palin.  Imagine Hillary, McCain and Palin on Capitol Hill and Obama and Biden in the White House? It would be Shakesperian! What better way for her to shake up the Senate, stay on the national stage and keep an eye on the party?
 
With the doom and gloom of the current economic climate and total Democratic rule set in place to govern, the ground will be seeded for a Palin comeback in 2012, though it won't be easy. She'll have the far right behind her, but she must run as herself this time, as the pragmatic, centrist reformer she is to truly be successful.

Not surprisingly, the McCain campaign doesn't want to abide by the unspoken, but widely understood, rules of political protocol. 

Certain campaign "insiders" are, and have been, engaged in an effort to throw Governor Sarah Palin under the bus for – in their estimation -- bringing the McCain ticket down. These Benedict Arnolds have leaked everything from alleged Palin "tantrums" to rumored "shopping sprees" and a seemingly exaggerated tall tale that tries to paint Palin as inappropriate for opening the door to her hotel room one morning in a towel. In my estimation the only thing that smacks of inappropriateness is the behavior of these staffers. 

The fact that Fox's Carl Cameron ticked off a litany of these accusations, in addition to a specific list of subject areas where the offended felt Palin was less than knowledgeable, reveals their classless effort to undermine her in order to conceal their own shortcomings. 

The real narrative is the long list of subject areas where they failed this campaign. We can now add loyalty and professionalism to the growing tally.  This is why they didn't deserve to win. 

I lost respect for many of McCain's aides during this election cycle. Now I'm left with none. Not only should this indiscretion give anyone thinking of hiring these now unemployed staffers extreme pause but it should also showcase why these "insiders" don't deserve to work in politics again. Not even races for neighborhood dogcatcher, because in politics you protect your boss--win or lose. 

The good news is that when Republicans think of the future of the GOP we think of Sarah Palin, not her disgruntled staff. 

Governor, when you're ready to hit the trail again, give me a call.