Far in the future

January 21, 2032 - Nevada Governor Gloria Pujols (R) became President Pujols as she was inagurated as the nation's 50th president at noon today. President Pujols will extend to 16 years the Republican Party's control of the White House, something that seemed impossible just two years ago. With the nation involved in an unpopular war in India and a scandal-plagued Republican president declining to run for reelection, the election of Sen. Jocelyn Jones (D-FL) was viewed as a mere formality by most pundits. "It's extremely disappointing to lose such a close, hard fought race, but we congratulate President Pujols and will do our best to work with her to better our country," said Senate Majority Leader Ronnie Anthony (D-OR).

Senator Jones, the second African American nominee of a major political party, was viewed as a heavy favorite as late as September. Some political commentators blamed the 274-270 electoral college loss on her shaky performances in the last two presidential debates. Others blamed the selection of running mate Gov. Max Alexis (D-MA), as exit polls indicated his inexperience may have cost the ticket precious points in several swing states. "We really thought the White House was going to be ours again," said NAACP President Alfonzo Thomas. "It was our chance to erase the memories of the Obama administration."

Cornelius Daniel, the nation's leading talk radio host, has a different take. "People don't vote for vice president, and given the political environment the debates shouldn't have made much of a difference. I do blame the Obama administration, but not for the reason you may think."

The fallout from the infamous riots that took place following Barack Obama's 2012 loss to South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford are cited as the reason an African American hasn't returned to the presidency. Not so, says Daniel. "The Obama presidency had its problems, certainly. The campaign finance scandal during his second year effectively ruined his term and made it impossible to win reelection. The inner city riots following his loss left a bad taste in the mouths of voters everywhere. We as black people did not handle our first chance in the limelight well."

The real culprit? "Without a doubt, abortion is to blame. The day Obama repealed the Hyde Amendment and signed the Freedom Of Choice Act is the day the black community lost."

Other prominent African Americans agree. "Mr. Daniel is 100% correct," says Eugenia Harris, president of the Black American Southern Revival, an Atlanta-based think tank dedicated to issues affecting the black community. African Americans make up 15% of the population, Hispanics 32%. There have been over 40 million black babies aborted in the last 60 years. The rate skyrocketed following Obama signing the Freedom of Choice Act."

"Imagine what those 40 million babies could have produced," asks Rev. Phillip Griffen, pastor of the New Orleans-based Trinity Church of God and considered the nation's leading African American religious figure. "Those babies would have been mothers and fathers, military and political leaders, pastors and teachers, good solid role models for young black men and women."

"The abortion rate among the white and Hispanic communities is dramatically lower than among ours," says Daniel. "As a black conservative, I didn't support Sen. Jones for president. But with 40 million more blacks among the nation's voters she may well have won the election." Governor Pujols won North Carolina by a razor-thin margin of 788 votes. "It's not too difficult to imagine Senator Jones winning North Carolina, along with a few other states, if our nation was a few percentage points more African American."

Eugenia Harris says the black community ultimately only has itself to blame. "The Obama presidency gave us the opening, we didn't have to walk right through it. He was the most radically pro-abortion candidate ever, so it's no surprise he turned into the most radically pro-abortion President. Removing all restrictions and providing federal funding caused the abortion rate to skyrocket. Looking back long term, we've aborted ourselves out of political power."

"Speaking on an entirely personal level," continued Harris, "a black woman being elected president would have been a dream come true. I fear that we may have fallen too far behind demographically to make the dream anything more than a fluke of history."

"The cruelest irony of them all," says Griffen, with a sigh, "is that the biggest losers from the election of the first black president were the millions of unborn black babies who never made it to the world."