The Next Carter Presidency?

Things have been a zoo lately between work and school. But, Tuesday night I turned in my final paper and presentation and have the next two weeks off. Yippee!!

So anyway, I was in line at the local 7-11 the other day and overheard a couple of younger guys (mid 20’s) talking about the elections. **Oooh goody** My ears perked and I couldn’t help but inch my way closer for an opportunity to nudge my way into the conversation. I couldn’t really hear what they were talking about specifically but I heard the name McCain and thought, yea! My day was going slowly so why not get my political groove-on and talk-up the McMan.

Well, ixnay that; turns out they were impassioned Obama supporters.

Blimey.

He’s a visionary, they say, and he speaks for the people.
** Really? Hmm. They’re young; it’s OK. **

Newsweek calls him an “Inspirational and brilliant” leader who will lead us to “a new America”…..
** I never liked Newsweek anyway.**

Now few can argue the “awe-inspiring” success of such a brilliant campaign; even I can pay homage to that. But good marketing and presentation skills – a good President does not make. I was just a tot when Jimmy Carter was president (and in fact was born on the very day he won the election), and while he may have been a “nice guy” who wooed the people, if I weren’t such a charmingly, delightful individual – I’m sure my father, who at the time was a staunch republican - would disown me simply on association. That says a lot.

Would an Obama Presidency be another Carter Presidency? I don’t know but I’ve heard the comparison. Two smooth-talking, man-of-the-people people with zero experience, and zero political accomplishments going into the White House. For Obama, that combination may make for something different than what Carter suffered – by most accounts a failed Presidency crippled by enormously high interest rates, double-digit inflation, high unemployment, low productivity, expensive oil, gas shortage, and turtle slow economic growth (oh and wide spread labor strikes, a ballooned deficit, a weaker defense, and failed arms talks). Carter’s inexperience was his weakness which made him a prime target; countries and other world leaders took advantage. By many accounts the people took advantage too. So what if he created the sister DOE’s and was a “nice guy”....as a President, Commander-In-Chief, and the most powerful man in the world - he was a complete dudd.

Obama a visioniary? I don’t think so; in fact I think that’s an extremely bold and arrogant statement. But whatever. Anyone in the businessworld will tell you that vision without collaboration and strong execution gets you nowhere. To many degrees it really is all about execution, execution, execution. So, what are we doing with Obama? If this were a business and the people it's Board of Directors - what BOD would ever hire a CEO who just got promoted to Senior Analyst simply because he talks about the future of business?? If you’re a believer – then he’s a man with “vision” but with no evidence to support any notion that he has the ability, tenacity or political finesse to effectively execute anything. He's a senior Analyst who has yet to be promoted to management level.

Carter was a Senior Analyst. Do we really want another Carter in the WH - where inexperience, oratory skills and schmoozing are the order of the day? Obviously, we cannot afford it.

So I don’t get it - the whole Obama train. It’s just one big question mark in my head.

Will someone please explain it to me...

10 Reasons Why Conservatives Should Vote for McCain

In response to an anti-McCain article posted by fellow conservative and blogger David K. Fuller [20 Reasons not to vote for Juan McAmnesty] – I’ve put together my list of 10 reasons why Conservatives should vote for McCain during the general elections. I think the 10 below are far more substantive than the 20 anti-reasons listed.

As I said on another blog post – McCain isn’t a Republican ideologue but he is a conservative – albeit moderate/slightly left of moderate – but a conservative none-the-less. Now that Mitt Romney is out of the running McCain will have my support and I simply can’t justify conservatives voting for Hillary or Obama over McCain. Some conservative folk I talk to, who don’t like any of the candidates, have just decided that they’ll stay home this year. And that, I think, is just stupid and un-patriotic. Obivously they’re communists. Note to anyone who falls in this category: you are part of the process and therefore should partake in the process!

Top 10 Reasons why Conservatives should support McCain:

1. He is the BEST candidate to serve as Commander-In-Chief

2. McCain will serve as a non-partisan leader when dire situations call for such a leader Fact: No matter how many times we hear the candidates talk of change and we listen, in awe, to their visionary strategies for fixing immigration, healthcare, Social Security and blah, blah, blah,….this is the reality people – the power of the presidency is a limp d*ck without the support of congress. The presidency can wield the veto pen to block legislature, but that accomplishes nothing in the way of progress. We need a leader with a proven track record of bringing together conservatives AND liberals to lay the foundation of change on issues that matter most to the future of this county.

3. Consistently, over the last decade, McCain supported in favor of free enterprise, limited government, and free markets Nearly 100% OF THE TIME – more than any other Democrat or Republican.

4. Over Hillary Or Barack – Mccain Has A FAR MORE FAVORABLE Record Voting For Pro-Business/Pro-Growth Initiatives As a conservative,I’d prefer a President elect who is more to the right on these issues but when compared with the only other two viable candidates – I’ll take the one who’s most to the right.

5. His IS A Fiscal Conservative He may have voted against the Bush tax cuts [much to my chagrin] but his voting record in favor of tax cutting legislation is nearly 70% higher than Clinton or Obama on average over the last 15-20 years. Compared with other more mainstream conservatives, he’s turned away from the tradition of supporting earmarks and pork-barrel spending, and he's been given consistently high marks over the last decade, by the non-partisan Concord Coalition for his stance on fiscal responsibility while fighting to preserve the security of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

6. Mccain WILL Run A Conservative Presidency This is conjecture of course but I believe he will select a conservative cabinet and a more conservative running mate along the lines of Huckabee or, the ideal, Newt Gingrich. Bringing on Newt would make a great balance for a President who is a conservative though slightly left of moderate.

7. His POW-background IS a compelling one for a future leader Think of what he had to endure during those 51/2 years; and he still came out the victor. I’ll also note that the nonsense I’ve seen posted about McCain being a traitor is not only absolutely ridiculous, but so many of the quotes supposedly pulled from his book – are taken completely out of context, for the sole purpose of pushing an agenda – Ron Paul’s agenda. Here's some pro-McCain propaganda for you but I LIKE IT.

8. McCain is well-liked by the mainstream media While this may be enough to turn conservatives into fits of rage, you have to consider the fact that many people in America still rely on them for their news and information. In order to win, the successful candidate must gain the support of that middle third of Americans that pay little to no attention to politics other than at election time.

**Note: I pulled this from the rightwingnews blog site because I think it’s a valid point that will serve as a positive for his presidency.

9. Abiding anything Ann Coulter says about McCain, which she says not to sway conservative votes but to promote her next book, is absolute lunacy since we know that much of what she has said over the last few years has increasingly reached the level of conservative gibberish on crack.

10. Even if you don't believe in or agree with the notion he has conservative principles...so be it. The fact remains John McCain IS FAR MORE CONSERVATIVE than his competitors and if you call yourself a conservative, by principle, you should vote for John McCain.

One last thing...on the issueof McCain-Feinglod - while I heartily disagree with it, I'll note that NO OTHER Congressman has actually attempted to repeal McCain-Feingold. So you can blame the creation of such stupid legislation on McCain but from a non-support perspective, dole out the accountability where accountability is deserved - and that goes to Democrats and Republicans alike.

What Recession?

"Unfortunately, I think that there is a better-than-even chance that we are headed into a recession in 2008,"

- Martin Feldstein, president of the National Bureau of Economic Research

Are we in a recession? Are we headed for a recession? Who makes that determination?

The consensus from some experts is that the U.S. economy is slowing. Data, from employment to income to industrial production and GDP, gets poured over and analyzed by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - and the economy’s performance is addressed not for what’s happening now but for what’s to come. And that may be something that in reality, is almost impossible to predict with any real measure of accuracy.

If you want to go by the informal definition of two consecutive quarters of economic downturn I’d say - If you have to wait two consecutive quarters to make the determination that you’re in a recession – then you’re likely not in one. By the time it's determined that the country is in a recession, odds are the economy has already bounced back since the data reviewed streams on a lag of between 6 and 8 months.

Sufficed to say, the great prognostications of our economic experts are more subjective than anything else.

Now, maybe it's me but I don't know anyone who's financial situation (outside of the subprime crash) has really changed. Gas prices are within the same range they have been for the last two years, and my wallet is equally as light as it's always been (but that's more me than anything else). I've got a job, and those I know that didn't, had no problems finding a job. Maybe a handful of areas in a handful of states are already in a recession but I'm pretty sure that will always be the case regardless of what's happening at the aggregate.

But here we are, in the last year of President Bush’s second term and candidates, pundits and media monkeys (mostly of the liberal breed) have been throwing out the word “recession” and scaring the lot of folks listening. Always during a presidential election year do we hear: the economy is “the worst it’s ever been”. Everything now is always “the worst it’s ever been”.

But we know better.

The Bad

The subprime market crashed; we’ve been in a credit-crunch; there’s turmoil in the financial and housing markets. Home owners and investors are running scared and taking their money with them. The world watches our panic of a coming recession and the world markets respond. To help steer us into a recession, the eager media stirs the pot and pours over our fears touting the economy is “the worst it’s ever been” and RECESSION!

The reality is that yes, we’ve got some problems but nothing we can’t or won’t overcome soon.

The Good

We've been in a credit crunch but we're also seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Despite an apparent crisis on the housing front – lack of building and hard markets, the value of homes has surprisingly held it's own with only mild impacts. We experienced slow growth going into Q4 of 2007 but many experts agree that growth will only continue to increase, as will employment and income, to supplement consumption spending in the first and second quarters of 2008. With the world markets responding to our domestic crisis – the dollar is weaker abroad and for economic stimulus - should shore up a competitive advantage in the short term for American exports.

Now, if we really want to buoy the economy for long term growth the government will eliminate corporate taxations and reduce regulations for American companies on foreign shores. Being competitive in the world arena will only result in huge financial gains back home.

Cheers!