Now what?

So, um...now what?

Seriously, even long before the end of this election, I've wondered this--in various forms:

Now that the Bush era is done, do we stop mistrusting government--or just stop mistrusting it so much? I would vote for the latter. It's important for liberals and progressives (whatever you want to call them) to stay vigilant against a President Obama--perhaps even more so, because the temptation is to let him get away with anything. Does the lefty blogosphere that's popped up during, and arguably due to, the Bush administration disappear now? I think it's very possible it will become less vibrant, less urgent, less angry. I hope it will not go away, however, because it's become a force for progress. What happens to the center-left coalition that swept Obama into office? Does it crack up after his first compromise? Do all the lefties throw up their hands when Obama signs something suspiciously conservative into law or uses military force against Al Quaeda? I hope, as I said, that we will criticize him--but I hope, at the same time, something of this unity remains. We'll see...

Finally, what becomes of what John Stewart has called the "satirical-industrial complex" of Daily Show, Colbert Report, Onion, Bill Maher, etc.? They got us through these last eight, surreal years. Will we still laugh at our own guys? There have been troubling signs all along that we are unable to do so. I would hate to lose that critical, comedic perspective. Hopefully we lefties can actually learn to laugh at ourselves, instead of just the other guy.