Politics

Here we are, the morning after the last presidential debate and a few things stood out for me.

  • The President had to come off strong and on the offensive – I think that he did a good job of creating a separation of his views, versus Mitt Romney. However, there were a few times, that his body language appeared to be harsh and tough. So I don’t know how that will play with the women voters?
  • Mitt Romney had to come off knowledgeable about foreign policy and matters over seas. He had to be able to command the conversation and get his points across. – I think that he did this, however, he often agreed with the President too much. I was glad to see that he did give the President credit for going after Bin Laden and that when the President tried to draw him into a discussion on Libya, that he refrained from a heated argument.
  • The President had to lay out a plan for the future and the next 4 years, if he were re-elected. – I did not really hear him do this, but that has kind of been the status thus far in either the campaigns or the presidential debates.
  • Mitt Romney had to work in the economy and drive home the message about the last four years – I think that he did a really good job with this and that the voters are understanding that yes, the President inherited a mess, but that policies that the President has put forth have only caused more problems.
  • Both the President and Mitt Romney needed to really reach Independent voters and women. – My personal opinion is that Mitt Romney remained focus and calm and focused on the issues.

We are now 14 days away from the election. Early voting has already started in multiple states. So did last nights Presidential debate matter? Maybe? I think that 3 Presidential debates might be too many, because early viewing numbers are lower than the last debate.  All in all, I don’t know how many people walked away with learning something new last night? But in 14 days, all of this will be over, we hope.

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Don’t forget to tune in tonight to the final Presidential Debate, here is the information on the debate:

Topic: Foreign policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida (Tickets)
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney
Moderator: Bob Schieffer (Host of Face the Nation on CBS)

As always, I’ll provide some type of remarks following the debate.   But, now that we are within 2 weeks of the election, this Presidential Debate may prove to be the deciding factor for many undecided voters. Many states have already started allow voters to participate in early voting, but there are still a great number of citizens that are not sure who best represents them and their views.

If you are able to vote, please do your duty as a citizen and voter and take a few minutes out of your daily schedule to vote. It is important and regardless of your political views, your voice matters.

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Tonight is the 2nd Presidential Debate between President Obama and Governor Romney.  I’m not really sure how this one will go, but here are my initial thoughts:

1) I think that VP Biden went out last week again Senator Ryan and went out fighting. I think he did this because A) that is VP Biden’s style, but also B) because the President came out so reserved, that they wanted to see how the American public responded. Well, it was a mixed review. Polls pretty much split the vote between VP Biden and Senator Ryan. So, I look to see the President to come out more forceful than his first debate, but maybe stay to the right of VP Biden’s approach.
2) I think that Governor Romney has really been able to hone his message and have it start resonating with the American public. That being said, I don’t know that he will come out as hard as he did the first time, but I do think that he will stay on point and hit home his message about the economy, job creation and the all important issue of healthcare.
3) I have shared this thought with a lot of family and friends, but I will be curious to see how many viewers tune in. If it is a low number, I think that that is a favor for Governor Romney. And I think that because A) early voting has already started and B) the American public, for the most part, has really already made up their mind. And with the way that the polls have been looking, a lower rating of viewers, in my opinion, only helps Governor Romney.

So, those are my thoughts, I’ll probably watch tonight and either Tweet or blog throughout or maybe just do a wrap up afterwards? We are 3 weeks away from the election.

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As many of Americans last night, I too watched the VP Debate. Maybe not as closely as I should have, but let’s be honest, I am one of the majority that know who they are voting for. There were some interesting statements by both sides and I think that it is very important that our country gets to know who the VP is and/or might be, just in case something were to happen to the President and they become Commander In Chief.

That being said, there are entirely too many points to make here, so I will only suggest this, go to Fact Check and see the highlights of what was said, and how accurate it really was.

Two debates down and one more next week. We are in the short roads here before the election.  My only suggestion is this, study the candidates and vote for who best represents you and your values.

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White House

The White House
Washington, DC

This statement is said every election, but this is truly how I feel, but I think that this years Presidential Campaign are the worse that I have ever experienced before in my life. And yes, I have been voting for 20 years and have gone through enough Presidential Campaign to make that statement. I just don’t remember this much mud sling and this much dirty politics. And it is coming from both parties, not just one.

I love politics. Seriously, I check the polls every morning. Granted, I take polls with a grain of salt, as most times polls do not disclose the sampling that was chosen to poll, which skews results, but I still love it. For once, I would like to see Presidential Campaign run a clean and factual campaign.  All ads must be cleared by a 3rd party Fact Checking organization to clear all ads and verify information that is coming from speeches, etc. Unrealistic, yes, but hopeful.

As we come down to the final push for this years Presidential Campaign, I still remain hopeful that Mitt Romney will pull it out, however, I am still discouraged by the way that the campaigns are and have handled this election.

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Day 2 of the GOP Convention has come and gone. The lineup was strong and a few key points were made last night.

Here are a few of the speakers:
Senator Rob Portman (OH)
Governor Tim Pawlenty (MN)
Mike Huckabee
Condoleezza Rice
Governor Susana Martinez (NM)
Vice Presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan

Overall, I think that each of the speakers laid out a separate vision, based on their experiences, and the direction of the GOP. Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State, did an amazing job. I talked with several Democrats this morning and each said that they would have voted for a Romney/Rice ticket in a minute. She was real, she was down to earth and gave real life experiences.

Was Paul Ryan the right choice for VP? Would a ticket with Condoleezza Rice on it reached a broader voter base? I don’t know? They both would be great choices, but I am beginning to wonder though.  Here is the link for the GOP Convention videos thus far.

And on to night 3 of the GOP Convention.

 

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24 hours later after the Supreme Court ruling and I was asked this morning by a co-worker what my thoughts were about Obamacare and how does it play into the writing on the blog. So, here goes:

I will answer the question about the ruling in two parts. The first part is simple, I think that Chief Justice’s ruling that the mandate was constitutional was wrong. Let’s be honest, when one of the most liberal Justices, Justice Kennedy is against a ruling like this, you know that something isn’t right. But, let’s look at the mandate in a broad spectrum, the Justice’s ruled that the US government has the authority to make private citizens purchase a product or good. Has a new precedent been established by the courts?  Will they now make the government to require that everyone buy car insurance, whether they need it or want it or not? Whether they drive or not? Will the government now require that all citizens must own a cell phone? Do I think that those two things will ever happen, no, but I also didn’t think that they would make this ruling either.

The second answer that I have to this first question, is that Justice Robert did in fact give Mitt Romney a gift. He ruled that the mandate was in fact constitutional, but that it was a TAX. That is right, a tax. And not just any tax, the largest tax increase that has ever been handed down to the American public. Here are just a few articles that touch on this subject:

The polls were pretty clear that the majority of the American people did not want the mandate included. That being said, there were good merits to this bill. The elimination of pre-existing conditions, affordable health care, etc. But let’s look at it from another point of view, for all of the small businesses that are out there, is it cheaper to provide healthcare or pay the tax? If it is cheaper to pay the tax, guess what they are going to do? PAY THE TAX! Which means, that their employees have to go out on their own and pick up their own private insurance policy, which might be more than what they were paying before the bill took effect.

So, why do I write about politics in a blog about raising my boys, well, 1) It is my blog, 2) These bills that are being passed today, will have an affect on my boys, both now and in the future and 3) I just love politics.  The game of the election just changed. Obamacare became the new focus of the election, the question is, can Mitt Romney deliver the message to the American people in a way that it resonates with them?

So tonight, I type. I think ahead for the next several months, I wonder if Obamacare stays at the for front of everyone’s mind or do jobs float back to the top? I wonder how the elections will be? I wonder if the turnout will be like it was 4 years ago or two years ago ?I wonder if the Independents step up and vote for Romney instead of Obama. I wonder, would I feel the same way about this bill had Chief Justice Roberts ruled differently?

Regardless, for today, Obamacare stands and all American’s will be afforded the right to healthcare. However, I wonder what will happen in a few months, a few years? I wonder if this healthcare bill will be a good or bad thing? Will parts stand out that helped others, will the new taxes that will be asset destroy small businesses and individuals?

I wonder.

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To say that I am a political junkie would be a tremendous understatement. I love politics. I love talking about politics and if and I would run for local office and her words are that “she is a political liability”. I love talking politics with those that have similar views and love talking politics with those that don’t share my views. One of my co-workers will tell you that we have the best politics discussions (please note that I said discussions as we discuss our views) and we have completely opposite opinions.

We are only a few months away from the next Presidential election and as a life long Republican, I’m not really sure how I feel about our chances of regaining the White House. And I am also beginning to become concerned about losing the House as well. So here are my thoughts on the current field of Republican candidates:

Mitt Romney – A business leader. A former Governor.  Someone that knows how to lead a state, establish a budget, lead others. In saying that, Romney Care does have some similar points as Obama Care. My personal belief is that barring any major setbacks, Mitt Romney will be the Republican candidate to face President Obama. I think that Mitt Romney is the best candidate that can reach both Republicans and also Independent voters.  Is Mitt Romney the best candidate that is running, I believe so. And I believe that he can beat President Obama.

There is one other Republican candidate, Ron Paul, that is still left in the race.  I have intentionally skipped over this candidate, as in my opinion, as even though Ron Paul has been an effective leader, he is not the right candidate to take on President Obama.

I love politics. And right now, I have 1 fear: That Mitt Romney gets the nomination and Ron Paul decides to run as an Independent and takes votes away from Mitt Romney.

The next 6 months will be very interesting and depending on the polls, it is a very tight race. Leads will change. Digs will be made at each candidate. But one thing that I think is for sure, this election comes down to 3 things and 3 things only:

1) Economy – How the markets are doing? Has the housing market improved? Are people spending money again?
2) Jobs – Are people back to work? And please do not confuse my thinking here, I am not basing this off the reported jobless claims report. I am referring to the actually number of people that are out of work.
3) Independents – The Independents will decide this years election. The majority of the voters have a good idea of how they are going to vote if they had to make a decision today. But it is those that are on the fence and the Independents that are going to decide which party takes control, because I do not think that it is just the White House up for grabs. The Senate is definitely in play as well this year.

So how are the Republican candidates going to shape up this year? Your guess is as good as mine. I do think that Mitt Romney has a great chance to win, not because the Republicans want him in the White House, but because they want President Obama out. But I think that if Mitt can gain some traction and really focus on the 3 things that I pointed out:
1) Economy – Lay out a plan to reduce the deficit and balance our budgets (which has not been done under the current administration);
2) Jobs – Lay out a plan to get Americans back to work, give corporations a tax incentive to bring jobs back to the United States;
3) Independents – Reach out and take a moderate stance, instead of the normal far right approach

I think, if those 3 goals are achieved, Mitt Romney will in fact win the election.

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Have you seen the news lately? Analysts are predicting $4.15 – $5.00 a gallon gas prices. So how does this affect you? Well, it is a chain of events.

1) Gas Prices rise.
2) Businesses pass along the higher charges to the consumer because the are losing money on their higher gas prices.
3) Food prices will rise.
4) People will not travel as much, thus the number of people taking vacations will decrease.
5) Because less people travel, the need for seasonal jobs will decrease because the demand is not there. Or companies can not afford to pay as much because of the higher gas prices and lay people off.
6) And unemployment rises again.

To give real numbers, here is what it will cost my family based on the following early projected gas prices for a fill-up.  And my wife and I each fill-up at least one time a week, sometimes twice a week. Because of these projected numbers, we will have to sit down as a family and make decisions on future trips and really look at the cost benefit of traveling out of state and maybe even out of town.

Gallons
Gas Prices at $4.15
Gas Prices at $5.00
My SUV 16 gallons
$66.40
$80.00
My wife’s SUV 15 gallons
$62.25
$75.00

See the trend here? Gas prices rising will only hurt our economy, plain and simple. And normally, I wouldn’t get on a soap box about gas prices, except for 1 primary reason and that is, there isn’t a logical reason as to why the prices are that high. And no, I am not one of those that believe that we should cut off our oil dependency immediately and go to electric cars. And I don’t because the technology in my opinion is not refined to the point that the number of cars can be put out on the roads and maintained if there are problems.

Do we need to look at alternatives to oil, absolutely. But, we also need to drill and harvest the oil that we can control and not be so sufficient on overseas oil. Until then, our gas prices will continue to rise, as the demand is greater than the supply. Though I did hear that the demand for oil has sifted from the US to India and China, which I thought was pretty interesting.

From what I have read, the Keystone Pipeline would have increased jobs by 20,000,and  increased oil so that we never have to import another drop of oil and the current administration rejected the project.  Sometimes I wonder if politicians forget why they were elected and allow the political game to become the focal point and not the voters that elected them to office.

Here is a crazy idea, let’s do what is best for the residents of the US and not what is best politically.  $5.00 a gallon for gas, is not and will not help this struggling economy.

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Being a political junkie, this time of year is very exciting for me, because it is political time.  To say that I love politics, would be an understatement and to the readers of this blog that know me personally, they all know my political beliefs. But as a father, I think that my role changes, as do the way that I look at politics. I think that it goes from me having my own personal beliefs, to teaching my sons about both parties and the beliefs of each. If asked, I will offer my stance, but I want my boys to grow up and make the best decision for them as it pertains to their political beliefs.

Upcoming Elections:
With the new election on months away, the Republicans are currently trying to decide who will be their candidate to run against President Obama. The biggest problem that I see for the Republicans is who is the best candidate? And not just from the stand point of running the country, but who can actually win the election? As it stands right now, I believe that the best choice will be Gov. Mitt Romney , not because I believe in all of his positions, but because I believe that out of the Republican candidates, he is most electable.

But this election is not just about the White House, but also the Senate. Currently, Democrats hold a 51-47 hold on Congress, with 2 Independents. And there is a chance that the Republicans could take Congress and maintain control of the House as well. So regardless of winning the White House or not, if the Republicans are able to take Congress, that would be a victory in and of itself.

Our Current National Debt:

The Gross National Debt

As you can see, our Federal Spending is growing at an alarming rate and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Unemployment rates have stayed at or around 9% and the approach that this current administration has taken of with or without Congress is scary politics. I just hope that by the time that my kids are older, that things will change for the better.

 

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