On October 29, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Never Give In” speech in front of the students of Harrow School in London, England, encouraging them to keep up the “good fight” indefinitely. Although many of the details of the speech have been distorted over time, Churchill’s key declaration defines the oration to this day: “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

 Still standing in the aftermath of perhaps the most historic presidential election of all time, I can’t help but notice that many of my fellow Americans need to hear these words today. As our nation prepares to usher in a man whom many considered the most liberal senator in the country, we must not lose hope; we must not give in. In his concession speech John McCain, Barack Obama’s unfaltering opponent in the race for the White House, had this to say to his supporters:

As conservatives, we can do our part by honoring President-elect Barack Obama as the leader of our country; we must not stoop to the level of those who lambasted George W. Bush with needless vitriol. After all, however we may feel about a Barack Obama victory, his ascendency to the White House testifies to the true greatness of the United States of America. Only 40 years since the brutal assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., we have our first black president. Besides, we won’t know how Barack Obama will lead our nation until he assumes office. So let’s not jump to any premature conclusions.

 As strange as it may sound, President-elect Obama’s victory speech in Grant Park reassured me and gave me at least a little faith in him. His words were not the words of the Obama I was used to; they were the words of the newly-heralded Commander-in-Chief coming into his own. Instead of reveling in his own victory with his followers alone, Barack Obama spoke to those Americans who didn’t vote for him, saying, “…to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.” Let us keep this singular truth in mind.

I realize some of you may be thinking that I’ve lost it, cracked under the enormous pressure, or gone off the deep end, and perhaps this article won’t convince you otherwise. In response to your quizzical looks: no, I have not become an overnight Obama fan. If I liked the man’s proposed policies, I wouldn’t have voiced my support for John McCain and Sarah Palin so ardently in September and October. However, the truth remains: I don’t know how Barack Obama will lead this country, and neither do you. I can, on the other hand, “hope for the best, and prepare for the worst,” to quote (or at least paraphrase) an English proverb.

Contrary to popular belief, Barack Obama is not stupid; he’s a fundamentally smart guy. He’s also extremely ambitious and hungry for approval. These two facts alone lead me to believe that he won’t back himself into the proverbial corner by alienating voters with insanely liberal policies. If he does, he’s gone in 2012. It’s that simple. If he has any sense at all (and he does), President-elect Obama will run an essentially centrist administration and avoid things like the Fairness Doctrine and oppressive gun bans.

Barack Obama will face many challenges as our next president. To succeed, he will need to focus his immediate attention on the struggling economy. However, recessions pass, and President-elect Obama and his Democratic friends in congress need to realize that bailouts won’t solve the economic problems we face. In fact, they will simply make the problems worse. I bet you have never heard of the Panic of 1819, one of the first major recessions in US history. Well, that’s because it passed (and relatively quickly at that); most recessions do. The Great Depression only lasted so long because of government interference. Note to President-elect Obama: recessions come and go! Don’t panic and dish out the billions now! Things will just get worse!

Additionally, Barack Obama must respond to the lingering threats in the Middle East and lead our country towards energy independence. However, he need not increase the size of government or continue to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to accomplish his goals. Ultimately these methods simply don’t work.

My friends (to use a McCain adage), if history repeats itself (and it often does) we have a revival to look forward to in 2012. After all, America survived Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan succeeded him. However, as we wait for the next round of elections to roll around, there’s still plenty of work to be done in Washington and around the nation. Let’s get to it!