FINDING OUR LEADER

Much has been said and written lately about our president.  The comments run along the lines of, "Who is this guy in the White House?," or "Will the real Obama please stand up." 

He is not delivering on what he promised.  He promised to get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and hasn't.  He promised to improve the economy, and hasn't.  He promised to do something about the jobs situation, and hasn't.  He promised to do something about the deficit, and hasn't.  The complaints list goes on and on.

We forget what he has done or, in some instances, had to do just to get the nation to a point where something could be done about the list of complaints above.  I'll use a football analogy.  We forget that sometimes in a football game the coach has to sacrifice a play or two, maybe even an entire quarter, to test the strength of the opponents and determine what his team can do against that strength.  Obama may still be in the first quarter of the game while some of us on the sidelines are acting like the game is over.

Aside from that (i.e., it's easier to call the shots when you don't have a stake in the game), we all, Democrats, Republicans and especially, Independents, have to stop chasing the promise.

THE PROMISE is what politicians tell you to get elected.  They know that they can accomplish nothing on your behalf (their constituents) unless they get elected.  So that is their first priority.  And to get elected, they have to tell you what you want to hear.  Never tell the truth and never answer a question directly if you can avoid it.  The truth will not set you free (except, maybe, to seek another line of work) and direct answers will only get you in trouble with someone or some group.  Hence, the campaign promise.  Promise what you must, never mind later.

And we keep falling for it.  We keep voting for the person who promises a new deal better than the old deal.  We believe the candidate who promises to fix the mistakes of the last administration.  We fawn over the charismatic poll who may not have a thought of any value but speaks well or looks good.  We love heroes: we'll take a man with experience in a war 40 years ago over a younger,  possibly more knowledgeable man.  We do not ask the hard questions of candidates ourselves and do not tune into or read the comments of those media people who do ask such questions.  We just want to hear the promise.

The second priority of every politician, the one upper most in his or her mind 30 seconds after taking the oath of office is: "What must I do now to get reelected?"  Forget the campaign promises, reality takes precedence now.  Everything that you say or do from this point forward will be used for or against your bid for reelection.  The next campaign has started.

Independent voters determine most elections.  But so long as independent voters are swayed by the magic of THE PROMISE, they will continue to vote for the wrong person.  The wrong person in this case being the person who makes the biggest promises or presents them in the most attractive package.  Sometimes that person is capable of leadership, sometimes not.

We voters have the power, but with it comes the responsibility to use our heads rather than our ideological hearts to determine who to vote for.  It is shameful enough that there are straight party-line votes in Congress.  That not one congressperson has the strength of conviction to vote for something presented by a member of the opposite party because (a) it actually makes sense, or (b) because no one from his/her party has proposed anything better.  Just as bad, however, is the sad state of affairs in which roughly one-third of the voting public can be counted on to do the same thing: that is, vote the party line regardless of the issues, the candidate, any proposed solutions or lack thereof. 

When candidates can count on the "party faithful" to sweep them into office and need only direct their efforts toward pleasing their "base," we can count on there never being intelligent attention given to national economic matters, national jobs or welfare issues, or national security interests here and abroad.  Remember your base, remember your large contributors.  Those are the people who put you in office.  Ignore them at your political peril.

Isn't it time we start accepting our responsibility before we demand any more from the politicians in Washington or the state house?  "Vote them all out of office," is the battle cry of some break-away groups.  And replace them with whom?  Will replacing all the Democrats with Republicans AND vice versa really change things, you think?