Electoral Silly Season

We are fully engaged in the silly season that unfortunately always precedes a major election in this country.  People on left and right of the political spectrum are spouting rhetoric designed to curry favor with their political supporters rather than to try to find solutions to real problems.  Voters who are in the political middle are trying to figure out which set of politicians they should support even though the problems facing our country are so complicated that it is virtually impossible for the public to understand what is involved - even if we had access to the necessary data.  The fact that this political system works at all is amazing.

My own take on all of this is fairly straight forward.  As I see it, our most pressing immediate problem is that we are spending too much money and have already accumulated a staggering debt that is threatening to destroy the country.  If you are still confused about this point read some of Paul Ryan's analysis, or listen to a couple of Ron Paul's or Michelle Bachman's recent tirades.  If you are confused about what our President intends to do if re-elected, listen to any of his speeches where he fails to address the major causes of our debt crisis and explains his plans to spend more money in the future.  If you are confused about who is to blame for our current problems look in the mirror and face up to the fact that the American public has gotten fat and lazy.  Over the years, we have elected politicians on both the right and the left who have promised more than we can afford.

As the 2012 election draws nearer, I am clear in my feeling that Mr. Obama must be replaced for all of the specific reasons outlined in earlier posts to this blog.  I wish that I could, in good conscience, champion one of the current Republican contenders for the presidency, but I can not.  None of them are an ideal candidate.  I can see things that worry me about each of them.  It is particularly difficult to understand what they stand for at this point in the election cycle because they are still talking primarily to their political base.  Their statements are carefully crafted to avoid angering their most ardent supporters within the far right.  They need those folks in the primary fight.  In addition, some of the potential candidates have not yet declared, so we know even less about them.  I continue to root for Chris Christy, but do not expect him to be able to walk on water.  He just looks like the kind of no nonsense manager that we need at this point in time.

When all is said and done, I will almost certainly vote for the Republican candidate - not because I believe that he or she is perfect, but because I believe that America can not afford another four years of Mr. Obama.  I believe that this country needs a course correction and our political system provides no other way to achieve it than to change the political balance of power in Washington.  If we do elect a Republican to the White House in 2012, I do not expect that I will be totally satisfied with all of his or her decisions.  I am not deluded into believing that Republicans can do no wrong and I believe that America will still need to be watchful of our political leadership to ensure that it is truly looking after the best interests of this country.