Well, I haven’t blogged in a while. When I thought about blogging today there were so many things I wanted to talk about. Since my last blog a lot of things have gone on in the world politically that got my attention. We went through the whole unnecessary Debt Ceiling controversy in July and the presidential campaign has taken off in full swing. Politicians on “The Right” have launched a campaign with the focus of “taking our country back” and making President Obama a “one term president”.
With all the discussions about whether to raise the Debt Ceiling, there was little discussion regarding the virtually routine process it has been in the past. George W. Bush raised the Debt Ceiling 7 times, Ronald Regan raised it 18 times, Bill Clinton raised it 4 times and George H. W. Bush raised it 9 times. How is it that the nation had to almost face default on its financial obligations in order to get something accomplished that has been virtually routine historically.
Now, after finally getting through that unnecessary hurdle, President Obama decides to take a vacation—which we know is a WORKING Vacation. He decides to spend a few days on Martha’s Vineyard with his family. BUT this is an issue for folks on “The Right”. Congress (the elected officials responsible for the Debt Ceiling crisis) is not is session but there are folks that feel President Obama shouldn’t take a vacation. Strange, in comparison, since President Obama has taken only 61 vacation days after 31 months in office. At this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch where his staff often joined him for meetings. And Ronald Reagan had taken 112 vacation days at his ranch. Isn’t that interesting? Here’s another case where President Obama seems to be held to a different standard. Folks on “The Right” appear to be playing up what is routine or normal as abnormal. They just don’t want the man to be in the White House; it’s as simple as that.
Now the GOP candidates are out fighting for the top spot in their party. They all want to face off with the man they want out of the White House. They would like to change the minds of those of us who have supported Our President since that cold day in February, 2077 in Springfield, Illinois; the day when (then)Senator Obama announced his bid for the White House. I say, DON’T lose your momentum!
If we had believed all the political pundits during the 2008 campaign, we would not have gone out and voted in record numbers like we did. If we had believed the hype of conservatives across the nation, we would not have seen the landslide victory we witnessed in November of 2008. Don’t forget those things.
While the GOP candidates attempt to make a name for themselves they stumble all over each other, fumble all over American history, make insidious comments about Our President and sometimes just make fools of themselves. I mean, let’s face it; you gotta love Michelle Bachmann. She’s the “gaffe that keeps on giving”. I can only imagine some of the gaffes she has stored up for the campaign. I’m looking forward to what she’s going to be saying and doing in the months to come as she fights with the other GOP candidates.
What we have to remember is that the race for the White House for the GOP candidates is a Sprint. They have a short race to get to the place of even being THE candidate to run against President Obama. They’ve got to win against their own people before they can even “get in the ring” with President Obama. On the other hand, President Obama is running a Marathon. He already knows he’s the Democratic candidate. He has 15 more months to assure voters that he’s the best person for the job. By November of 2012 he will be at full speed in the race.
We cannot lose heart and allow what we hear in the media to sway us from the course or from supporting Our President. We did it before. We can do it again. If you have ever seen a marathon race, you know that the winner exerts more energy toward the end of the race. Let the GOP candidates continue their fight against each other. Let them continue to throw stones at Our President. In the end, when he picks up speed, we’ll see a major difference in the direction of the campaign. Remember, the race for the White House in 2012 is a Marathon, not a Sprint. The winner will emerge in the end. We’ve seen it before; we’ll see it again!
Sorry, I just Gotta Say It!!
