Election Deficit Disorder

In the 2008 election, then candidate Obama and the democrats ran on a platform of hope and change.  They committed to a few things:  getting our economy back running, passing health care changes, and unwinding a number of social ills foisted upon us by the Bush administration.

Everyone lined up at the voting booth and swept them into office.  Euphoria was high.  Everyone believed.  This was one of those elections where things really were going to change.  If we didn’t have term limits, Obama would be the next Franklin Roosevelt.

Here we are, almost two years later.  Obama spent a ton of money and did the same things that any modern day republican would have done to try and fix the economy.  Some of it worked, most of it didn’t.  He passed the health care changes he promised.  He is busy putting to law his social agenda.  It seems to me, as a political outsider, that he is doing most of what he said he would do.

My question is for the 53% of America that voted for Obama.  Where are you?  Why are you so unhappy? Why are you not carrying the candidates that brought you one success after another in Washington to another landslide victory?

If we as Americans want decent people to run for office, and we want them to be people of conviction and not make decisions based on which way the wind is blowing, we have to be willing to vote with a view beyond the end of our own nose.  I personally think that if you voted for Obama in 2008, you should be thrilled with how he is doing and should want more of the same.

And it’s not just this election.  The Wake County school board here in Raleigh has undergone much of the same kind of turmoil.  The current schoolboard had a very clear agenda in their pre-election pledges.  They planned to undo the way kids were assigned to schools in Wake County.  After election, they actually did what they said they were going to do.  They were greeted with death threats, accusations of bigotry, racism and every other kind of personal attack by local, national and international news organizations.  Why would someone with any kind of sense sign up for that?

We live in a complex world.  Problems that took years to get into take more than two months to get out of.  If you believe in someone enough to expend the energy to go out and cast a vote for them, have enough intestinal fortitude to give them a chance to do what they said they were going to do.  And, for Pete’s sake, when they do it, have the courage to stay behind them until they prove themselves unworthy.

Then, vote those lying, good-for-nothing bums out.  That’s really what we do best anyway…

( Note:  the non-capitalization of democrats and republicans was not an oversight )