On this holiday weekend, the nation faces enormous challenges on many fronts, and some wonder whether America's best days are behind her. As we celebrate our nation's founding, here is our take on the State of the Union on Independence Weekend 2009:

Webb: Although I have very serious concerns about the current direction of our country, I have ultimate faith in the resilience and ingenuity of the American people. Our nation's founders, and many previous generations, dealt with far more serious challenges than we do today. I have faith that my children and grandchildren can have bright futures.

However, those bright futures won't materialize if the nation continues down the course being established by the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress, now enjoying "no one can stop us" super-majorities in both the House and Senate.

In criticizing the Democrats, I don't want to minimize the failings of past Republican leadership. President George W. Bush deserves credit for resolutely and effectively executing the war on terror, but that took all of his focus. Bush and the Republican Congress did little to aggressively deal with a host of domestic challenges, essentially letting things slide until they were forced out of power, leaving the Democrats an economic mess.

I respect the Democrats for thinking big and aggressively tackling the numerous and enormous problems facing the country. But I fear their solutions will exacerbate the problems, not solve them.

They are recklessly throwing money (that they don't have) at anything and everything that moves, racking up incredible deficits. They are centralizing power in Washington at an unprecedented rate, treating states as a mere afterthought. Our Founding Fathers would be horrified.

The Democrats are taking over businesses and entire industries, are engaging in "faith-based policymaking" by imposing a gigantic energy tax with a vague belief that it will reduce global warming. And they are planning new health-care entitlements costing trillions of dollars

They are putting more and more people on the dole, and people on the dole will vote to keep it coming. They are creating a culture with an explicit message: The federal government is the solution to everything. The federal government is the center of the universe. The government will care for you from cradle to grave. It will entertain you, educate you, subsidize you, run your business, give you health care, pull your cap over your cold ears, button up your little coat, pull on your mittens and tie on your cute booties. It is a culture of entitlement.