Port and Starboard: The Race to the Top

There are less than 120 days left ’til selection of a President for these United States. Here are two working man views of the choices.

The Port side

I’m not a big fan of our “Hope & Change” President, but as a listing lefty, Mitt Romney, the GOP’s Great White Hope, will not make a better President and here’s why.

When it comes to the #1 issue facing this country – the economy – Romney robotically sputters boilerplate Republican pabulum. He has no plan, vision, nor vague notion on how to get the U.S. out of its economic doldrums.

Indeed, we hear the drum beating and GOP talking points on how Obama has failed. I give props to the Right, its PACs, and Romney for amassing a seemingly bottomless war chest. Money keeps pouring in with campaign and issue ads pouring out trying to convince us that “successful businessman” Mitt Romney possesses the economic answers, because — he is a businessman. 

There’s just one problem with this logic: Who says a businessman can “successfully” lead a nation? America had its first MBA president in George W. Bush and look where that got us? In the financial mess we are digging ourselves out of now. “Successful businessman” equals successful President, lacks precedent.

But, the major reason why Romney will not be elected president, something that has dogged him for five years now and keeps coming back like the Energizer Bunny, is that Mitt Romney is uninspiring. Sure, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, but its apple to oranges, truly.

To borrow a Gertrude Stein quote, with Mitt Romney, “There’s no there, there.”

He had to spend millions to outlast a lackluster field of opponents, and still failed to excite the Republican base. He’s the GOP’s “Default” candidate.

From the outset, key GOP groups found Romney’s candidacy wanting. The Tea Party’s cup did not runneth over for Mitt. And, Evangelicals will tell you, albeit privately, his Mormon religion scares them, so much so they may stay home come November.

It’s the economy, not Romney’s better idea for America that keeps the race close, so far. Even with the snail pace recovery, President Obama holds several trump cards – no pun intended – thanks to republican congressional hubris, as well as Romney’s failure (again) to inspire key voting blocs – women, Hispanics, and Blacks. Isn’t it ironic that the minority voters may decide the 2012 Presidential election?

Republicans may say Obama is an empty suit, but there are many in the GOP who will concede that at least the President does not wear magic underpants.

Starboard  

Wow, that is a lot of material to work with. Magic underpants (bashing religion), fundraising concerns from the “fundraiser in Chief” folks and, most importantly, an admission from a dyed in the wool northern lib that he is “not a big fan” of the President. How does the old song go? “The party’s over.”

I think we could all agree that it is time for a little adult supervision for the Country and Mitt Romney, if nothing else, is all of that. He is not a lot of laughs and he won’t be throwing out smug one liners like Obama, but that is just fine. Please give me vanilla bean boring and a bunch of it, if it means we can get the nation back on track while saving the rest of the world in the process.

Just think, instead of a guy whose premiere work years are spent in the undefined murky underworld role of community organizing, we instead get a guy who legitimately became a legend in the highly regulated private sector’s complex world of business and finance.

Instead of a mediocre legislator who time and time again cast that hard vote of “present,” we instead get a Republican Chief Executive who won election in the most Democratic state of them all.

Instead of a guy who constantly burdens the middle class and all the races, creeds, and colors that reside there, how about a guy who respects, supports, and reflects the values of the this great class of people who have and always will carry the water of this nation.

Tax and spend versus cut and tighten; destroy health care so a few can get coverage or improve health care so ALL can benefit; class warfare versus old fashion class .Write this down…the independents and the disappointed Reagan Democrats will decide the outcome of this election – not the hard core, hard line special interest base of the left.

The over exuberance of Obama’s first campaign is now replaced by disappointment and frustration. Folks feel betrayed by the over promise and nothing can fix it now. The President had four years to fix it, and he could not muster any plan or support to make something happen. So, like “The Donald” says, “You’re fired!”

Get your game face on, because we are entering the red zone of Presidential politics, and there is a bad storm a comin’. Here we go through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole of what is the final stretch of a Presidential race. Relentless negative advertising, gaudy overblown and over produced conventions and, of course, the meaningless debates all influenced and interpreted by the adoring liberal media.

Go get your blue tarp and cover anything valuable, because you ain’t seen nothing yet. Over the next four months, the Chicago based re-election campaign is going to carpet bomb the American airwaves and saturate the liberal press with the worst things you have never imagined. Ugliness and corruption at a level at which the world has never seen. Truth be damned, fiction over facts, and more fantasy tales that try to make the loner narcissist President appear normal and mainstream. These battle worthy street thugs will take it all down before they give up that government money machine they have lubed up so well. If they can’t continue to loot the taxpayers for their friends’ benefit, they might have to raise it legitimately, and everyone knows that dog won’t hunt.

Unless something changes, nothing is going to change . Luckily, the lack of enthusiasm for Romney is only surpassed by that for the President. He had it all, a major victory, both houses of Congress, but he just could not help himself. Instead of us it became all about him, and we unfortunately were left holding the empty bag.