Friday, October 26, 2012

The Time Has Finally Come

    The United States Constitution says that every four years we shall hold an election for our nation.  I know there are plenty of people that just wish this whole election thing was just over and done with.  Many people are so tired of seeing the ads on t.v., hearing the political pundits yell about the candidates and watching the candidates tell lies about their opponent (or even tell the truth about their opponent).

     My feeling on this whole process boils down to this:  I'm proud to be an American, where at least, I know I'm free.  Yeah, there are way too many commercials about the candidates.  Yeah, it does get annoying listening to each side rip apart the other side.  Yeah, they do spend way too much time and money running for a position that pays a lot less than what they spend to get the job.  But, at least we do still have the freedom to spout off against our leadership.  We still have the freedom to assemble to support our favorite candidate.  We still have the freedom wear the buttons and litter our cars with bumper stickers.  For all of that, I thank God every day for our freedoms.  This may not be a perfect country or system, but it's still the greatest country and the most free system in the world.

     I watch the news daily.  I take in as much political junk as I can from both sides of the aisle.  I read the posts on facebook from my political friends.  It has become a sport for me much like what football is to a Sunday afternoon couch potato.  Sometimes it's more than I can stomach.  For those who are very close to me you know how big that stomach truly is.  I feel I am as informed as a voter can really be.

     Much has been said about the disastrous mess that President Obama inherited from George W. Bush.  It's true.  We have gone through some of the worst economic times of most of our lives.  This supposedly has been the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression of the 1930's.  Housing has been in the dumper.  Unemployment has been sky high.  Gas prices are at their highest levels ever.  We have more than $16 Trillion in debt.  Not to mention the non-economic conditions we find ourselves in fighting  2 wars.  Iran is on the brink of creating what could be a nuclear Holocaust.  Syria is killing its own citizens.  The Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Spring have consumed northern Africa.

     I want to spend a little bit of time discussing each of these points.  Regardless of what most people think, Big Banks and George W. Bush did not cause the housing market melt down.  What truly caused that is a very deep convoluted act that is too complex to get into by the name of Frank-Dodd caused the burst of the housing bubble because it forced Big Banks to give sub-prime loans to people who could never afford to pay the loans back.  Foreclosures exploded and a glut of housing flooded the market driving down prices.  As for Unemployment...When GWB was president it topped out at 5.5% and the media told us the world was coming to an end.  We were told that by spending 1 TRILLION Dollars of future generationS' money then the unemployment rate would never get above 8%.  Now we have gone through more than 40 months of the unemployment rate not getting below 8%.  And if you would use the true U6 number (which is again way to complicated to explain here) it would still be closer to 15%.  As for gas prices; on inauguration day 2009 gas prices averaged $1.89 per gallon.  Now they are nearly $4 per gallon.  As for the wars, we have pulled out of Iraq and Osama Bin Laden is dead, but that does not mean terrorism no longer exists.

     The Arab Spring inspired by and taken over by the Muslim Brotherhood was suppose to mean democracy had finally blossomed in the Arab world.  Assad in Syria continues to kill his own people and now we have a huge scandal still brewing with an Ambassador killed in Bengazi.  None of these situations have been addressed.  In fact cover up after cover up has come about.  We seem to be cow towing to the Arab world.  Our president was caught on a live mic telling a Russian leader he had to get through 1 last election and then he would have more flexibility.  What does he mean by that?  What isn't he willing to tell the American people he is going to do?  What assistance will he actually give to Iran to help them obliterate Israel?

     Yes, President Obama inherited quite a mess, but he has also made matters much worse.  I do believe he volunteered for this very position.  If he didn't want it or didn't think he could actually do anything about making it better, he should not have run for president in the first place.  if he gets re-elected who will he blame for the mess he inherited this time around?

     After all the bickering.  After all the annoying ads.  After all the debates and the candidates explaining what they can do for America,  The time has finally come.  The time to elect a man who has experience in solving problems, creating jobs and dealing with a opposite party Congress has come.  The time has come to elect the next President of the United States...Mitt Romney.