Perhaps a secret desire for approval from the elites and intelligentsia of the Northeast Corridor explains the squishiness of so many on the right today. Or maybe they are paranoid about appearing ever so slightly racist if they fail to extol the virtues of the first black president -- no disrespect intended to Bill Clinton -- even if his policies are anathema to them.

But can't we acknowledge the positive aspects of America's historic strides in certain aspects of race relations without surrendering to the advancement of liberalism just because the first black president is behind it?

What our government does during the next four years -- maybe the next 100 days -- could have a lasting impact on the future of America's liberty, prosperity and even solvency.

Republicans are already on seriously thin ice, having presided over an era of unprecedented spending and consistently failing to articulate conservative principles on a wide variety of issues. But what Obama has in store will make President Bush appear, in retrospect, like a libertarian.

If, for the sake of appearing to work with Obama, Republicans reduce themselves to offering merely liberal lite the next four years, we're going to have trouble recovering from the inevitable damage to which they will have contributed.

They've already ceded ground on the need for a "stimulus package," though conservative realists understand that doing nothing would be far less destructive to our long-term financial health than throwing good money after bad under the illusion that the government mint is a panacea.

Will they have the courage to stand tough against the further socialization of our health care system and offering market reforms instead, even against the demagogic claims that they are without compassion for the "uninsured"? If not, they will be contributing not only to the permanent demise of America's health care system but also to possibly the end of America's free market tradition.

It's one thing for Obama's leftist cult followers to be oblivious as to the source of their giddiness, but it's completely unacceptable for the right to be rudderless in the face of this potential juggernaut. Lord help us and this great nation if they don't regain their moorings very soon.