PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Chris Freind
Over the weekend, Barack Obama held his first stateside press conference since being elected Chancellor of Germany. As usual, generalities abounded about the need for "change" and how more government intervention is the answer to all of America's problems.
The biggest misconception about Obama is that he is an electrifying speaker who can woo any crowd. While this is true when giving a speech to a favorable crowd, he morphs back into senatorial mode at press conferences and debates. After five minutes, he sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, with only the "wah-wah, wah-wah" monotone being heard.
After suffering through his non-answers to softball questions, however, it became apparent that his theme was to blame our economic woes on President Bush's "failed economic policies". Call me crazy, but that's about the first accurate thing the man has said during the campaign.
The economic plans put forth during the last seven years of Republican reign have been disastrous. It took seven years for the President to veto his first spending bill. It took seven years to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. We have record deficits and a significantly larger government. Pork barrel "earmark" spending is more prevalent than ever. And we are still waiting for a border wall and the extension of the Bush tax cuts, set to soon expire.
The irony is that, since gaining the keys to the treasury, the Republicans HAVE acted like the tax-and-spend Democrats they replaced. They abandoned the core principles that got them elected in the first place, and succumbed to the politics of power. The results speak for themselves. Yet Obama wants to continue, and even increase, that level of irresponsible and dangerous spending. In all likelihood, the Democrats will make gains in the House and Senate this November, but not because their ideas sell with the American people. They will win because voters feel betrayed by the Republicans, and don't trust the GOP to lead them out of the recession.
Increasing government spending and ballooning the bureaucracy isn't the answer. Tightening the belt, in the same way that families and businesses do when times get tough, is. John McCain would do well to make this case.
If McCain is known for one thing, it's bucking the Party establishment to check wasteful government spending. By telling the truth about how we got into this mess, which would include chastising his own party, he would gain tremendous credibility with the voters. More than ever, Americans are seeking a president who will talk straight and shun the Washington two-step. Principle matters more than Party, period.
This election is Obama's to lose, since he has virtually every advantage heading into the fall. Yet the polls are tied. And there's a reason for that.
The American people are looking for a change, and Obama's rhetoric notwithstanding, they aren't buying the kind of change he is selling. What they are looking for is a credible leader who can right the ship and jumpstart the economic engine.
If voters believe in McCain as a person first and as a Republican second, he will be the next
President.
Chris Freind can be reached at CF@TheBulletin.us
