Swinging?

I'd like to say a few words to those "undecided" voters, especially those in the so-called "swing states".  

I suspect that some of these voters are like my next door neighbor.  He's a nice guy, a life-long Democrat who finds himself faced with a dilemma.  He doesn't like Obama, but he doesn't care for Romney either.  What to do?

I didn't particularly like John McCain in 2008, but given the choice between him or Obama, I had to weigh which one I thought would be less damaging to the country, if not better for the country.  Sometimes that's the choice we have to make, one in which we don't wholeheartedly agree with or like a candidate, but one who's clearly the better of two mediocre choices.

If you supported Obama in 2008, but feeling disappointed in his performance as president, please consider a few things. Economically, President Obama has failed to cut the deficit as he promised he would, our debt is higher than ever, his policies have stifled energy production, and the unemployment rate has remained stubbornly high. This is the weakest "recovery" after a recession that this country has ever experienced. Sadly, Obama has divided this country along economic and racial lines. Obama has shown no inclination to change his policies or his beliefs, so why would another four years of the same thing give us different results?  

I would respectfully ask that you try to keep an open mind and take an objective look at what President Obama has actually done.  Don't listen to his rhetoric - this is a man who often says one thing and does another.  Just watch what he does.  

Isn't it time to give someone else - namely, Mitt Romney - a chance?

Jobs?

Obama and the congressional Democrats are trying to convince us that they're focused on jobs, jobs, jobs.  They complain that Republicans aren't interested in "creating jobs".  

The Democrats have it bass-ackwards, as usual.  We need jobs in the private sector and the government cannot create those jobs.  Employers don't hire people to get tax credits, as the president seems to think.  They hire people because their business is growing and they need more employees to handle it.  Likewise, jobs don't grow the economy; it's the other way around.  The growth of the economy is what creates jobs.  

The best thing the government can do at this point is to just get out of the way. Quit trying to regulate the life out of businesses, ease the tax burdens on employers and watch the economy grow.  In other words, butt out!

Obama the Unconquerable?

Things look pretty bleak right now for the president.  The economy continues to stagger, the stock market is in the toilet, the unemployment rate stubbornly refuses to come down and the president's approval rating is sinking into George Bush territory.  If things stay like this, it's hard for me to see how he could be re-elected.


I've been to several Tea Party rallies in the past and when the Tea Party first arose, I felt it was in line with my beliefs.  However, lately I've been feeling alienated from it, starting with the debt ceiling wrangling.  The Tea Party was, in my opinion, unrealistic to think that sweeping changes could be made with Republicans only holding the House.  We didn't get into this mess overnight and we won't be able to clean it up quickly either. 


A few months ago Indiana governor Mitch Daniels said that in order to win in 2012, Republicans need more than just the people who listen to Rush Limbaugh.  Limbaugh, of course, took offense at this and, in a bombastic distortion, claimed that Daniels was saying that conservatives were irrelevant.  That's not at all what Daniels was claiming and I think he made a valid point.  The Tea Party and other conservatives need to remember that while conservatives are necessary for a Republican win in 2012, they are not sufficient.  We must remember those voters who don't necessarily identify with a political party - yes, those voters that Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives hold in such contempt, the independents.  


I hope the poor economy and Obama's sinking ratings don't lead Republican primary voters to think they can nominate a hardcore candidate.  We don't need a replay of the Christine O'Donnell or Sharron Angle fiasco.  

Positive vs. Negative

There are those who think Obama will be difficult to beat in 2012.  The field of GOP candidates is far from stellar, but what tack should the eventual candidate take in the campaign?

The economy is anemic and teetering, millions of people are unemployed and the  future doesn't look especially bright, which is exactly why the Republicans need to be upbeat, optimistic and encouraging.  Obama believes the United States is not an exceptional country and apparently has little faith in Americans.  He sees America as a country in permanent decline and thinks our best days are behind us.  If a Republican candidate will get up and speak of the exceptional nature of our great country and its people, offer a plan to get us back on track as the world leader we still are and bring hope to people, it will be a wonderful contrast to the pessimistic scolding of Barack Obama.  Don't focus on "shared sacrifice" or austerity; put the spotlight on how we can pull ourselves out of the doldrums in which we find ourselves.  Obama seems content to settle for living in those doldrums.  I, for one, am not.