"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." So begins "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. It describes countries undergoing revolutions, when the people take their countries back. With the economic meltdown and election, it seems a fitting epitaph for this year.

It was certainly the worst of times for the Republican party this year. They saw their grasp on power slip away in astonishing fashion, as the Democrats nearly took complete control of the Senate, widened their grip in the House, and took the Presidency as well.

Of course, the presidency seemed inevitable. The Republicans had no strong candidate; all were deeply flawed in some respect. I remember thinking "is this the best they can offer?" In true conservative fashion, all the Johnny-come-latelys were quickly jettisoned, and the old familiar face of John McCain remained. Could he do it? The hard-core of his party hated him, but he appealed to moderates...

... That is until he picked Sarah Palin for VP and saw his campaign meltdown. Voters disappointed in Clinton's loss were not going to vote for an arch-conservative just because of gender.

In the end, it was the Republican policies that did them in. It turns out the "October Surprise" was an economic meltdown created by Republican non-interventionist regulatory policies. It was created by the "greed is good" trickle-down mentality that finally convinced conservative/moderate lower-middle-class voters that maybe the Republicans weren't looking out for THEIR best interests after all.

Instead they went with the candidate that represented change and hope, and plans for restoring some semblence of order to the economic chaos that continues to wreak havoc. The Big Story of the year is that a candidate took the high road and won. The Great Unwashed voted for a revolution.

So as we stand on the doorstep of a new year and look back, we must also look forward. The Republicans must decide how to regain their footing, renew confidence with the electorate and retake some power. If two recent stories are any indication, they have not learned the lessons of the past.

As people look to the government for help, as the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, as the jobless rate climbs, the Republican party decides the best thing to do is accuse Bush of Socialism:

Surely those hurting in this economic vortex will feel comforted right?... Republicans can also take note that their leaders have learned the lesson that negative campaigning doesn't work by - ummm - sending out a CD with a song called "Barack the Magic Negro":

It's nice to see the Republicans are focusing on what matters, and in such classy fashion.

Meanwhile, it's less than 3 weeks until the adults are in charge again. Perhaps 2009 should be the year of hope. Here's to a Happy New Year to you all...