Real America

Once again the politicos are attacking the Obama administration. this time it is the loss of "real America", those who are independents, liberal republicans and voters for change. According to the latest poll Obama has experienced a 16 point drop of these people from May 09. They are concerned for the size of the deficit, the lack of jobs, the stimulus package, and the "shovel ready jobs" that were a result of all this money being spent.

Let me concur with several points: it is true that the spending has been horrific, that there seems to be a disconnect from the voters for change due to the size of the problem (more later), and it seems that there is a rush to pass certain legislation into law (health care). All of this can be a little daunting and I am in agreement with some of the criticism. However what is more disturbing is the rapid change of attitude. Let us be real and tell the truth: Obama has been in office less than a year. There are more issues today than there were at the start of his term. The world has seen major upheavals: Iran, North Korea, Honduras, and now China whose issues were such that the leader had to leave the G-8 Conference because of the violence. These are not easy times.

The major auto corporations are emerging out of bankruptcy leaving a wake of people out of insurance, and out of luck and we have no clue as to the viability of this new industry. Add to this the need to recognize the effect on global warming and you can see there is a lot to deal with. This is not a new phenomenon, Presidents have always had a lot of things to do, but, this is the first time that decisions are being made by a person of color. And, I believe that these reactions are the result of a lack of trust that Obama has the ability to do the job. In other words: some Americans think they made a mistake with their vote.

The answer to these questions are still along way off and if by the end of this term things are not well then vote them all out! Everyone not just some of them. It might be time to look at a third party candidate, a prospect that frightens a lot of people including me. But until that time lets not get unraveled. We must as a country face the fact that there will not be as many people employed in certain industries and there must be a real and effective development of new industry (call it green if you must) to replace old jobs. Also we will have to conserve resources as new industry develops. Finally, we must have our own Truth Commission, where we find out what was the rational for going to war with the wrong villain. To this date we have not found Osama Ben Laden, stopped the Taliban nor curtailed the drug trade from Afghanistan or Mexico. Our schools are still not up to par, our economy is not responding at the levels effecting the common man, and jobs are not here.

It is easy to point to President Obama and wring our hands while hoping Sara Palin can wave a magic wand and Conservatism will triumph once again, but do not hold your breath. The issues facing real Americans are the same that have always existed. These issues are just compounded by a war which drained the economy of treasure, time and talent. Robbing our families of loved ones, workers and thinkers that we need to see this crises to the end. We as Americans of all colors, ethnic groups, sexes and cultures have to stop buying into the when is it going to happen mindset. Remember as people who overcome personal issues: we did not get here overnight, and it is a sure bet that we will not leave over night also. Later