The Duping of America - A National Disgrace

Our history is replete with Presidents who caught the imagination of America’s voting public and were swept into office promising change and reform. Sometimes this change was driven by world events and sometimes by the fact it was time for the other party to have its chance with a new approach. Some of these elections resulted in positive change, some negative. In most cases, they caused a discernable alteration in the course of history.

The election of Andrew Jackson was a move away from legislative dominance to a stronger executive role, James Polk, the expansion of our manifest destiny, Lincoln, a test of our values as a nation, T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson, the move towards modern progressivism and away from individual rights, FDR, a move to the welfare state and big government, Kennedy, a promising change to a new generation, Carter, a reform of Washington politics, Reagan, a return to our principles and strength as a world power, and Obama, a new approach to transparency in government, “fairness” in the distribution of wealth, and a less arrogant America.

Although I sometimes voted for the “losers”, I was always assured that the American public would choose the right man at the right time because our collective wisdom as a nation had always been infallible. I must say that for the first time, I am very worried.

We have elected a man with no track record or notable achievements, one who was elected on the shear “cult of personality” sale and the fact that we were enamored that he is an African-American and illustrates the classic story of what is possible in America. In a short six months we have found that the weakness the main street media says is apparent in Sarah Palin as a presidential candidate is clearly present in Barack Obama, except unlike Palin, he is able to create an image of authority, confidence, and swagger because of his gender and his appeal to liberal women, the youth, and minorities.

Without a teleprompter, he stutters and stammers his way through interviews often with incorrect and uniformed views, he doesn’t listen to the opposition nor care what they say because he is steeped in the tradition of the liberal establishment who are his friends and associates throughout his rather narrow career experience. His grasp of international relations is appalling and naïve, at best. His socialistic view of the role of government is creating severe problems for future generations and world confidence in our currency and our economy.

With voter overreaction sweeping Democrats into Congress with one-party super majority control, we are now witnessing a reckless legislative agenda threatening to impose a European-style welfare state, in a matter of weeks, against an arbitrary deadline, and with little analysis. This agenda will result in a huge tax burden that will trickle down to the middle class and rival the taxes that currently exist in Denmark and Sweden, the standard bearers of the welfare state, and will be higher than even Canada and France. Current estimates from credible independent economic authorities and overseers of government spending, show that the U.S. average income tax will reach 52% of your income and as high as 57% for residents of NY, NJ, California, Oregon, and Hawaii if this legislation is enacted.

This is a man who campaigned as a centrist, than proceeded to break most of his promises, and is now governing as an extreme or even radical liberal. It looks like “Joe the Plumber” was one of the few who didn’t get duped. The only question is will we be duped again in 2012?