Good post. I can't really do this justice in the time I've got. A few points:

I'm not going to waste any more time trying to define the Left. Oddly, nobody seems to have any problems around here knowing what a "conservative" is.

I well remember what the Democratic policy positions were during the last twenty years of the Cold War, and I know what their positions are now in the war against Islamic fascism today. I choose accordingly. So can everyone else.

As for optimism, sometimes I wonder if we're living in the same dimension. Look around.

It isn't conservatives talking down the economy. It isn't conservatives wailing about our damaged and ineffective military. It isn't conservatives saying that we're losing, losing, losing, on every front.

I'm looking forward to getting out from under the cloud of Conservative doom and gloom and fear and weakness, and living again in a strong nation. I'm looking forward to the restoration of optimism in America.

It isn't optimism I'm seeing from the Democratic Party. In almost every issue, from the war, to the economy, to the environment, they're the ones hanging the crepe and preaching doom. If you're looking for optimism, you sure as hell aren't going to find it there. Ask yourself why Reagan beat Jimmy Carter.