What are we talking about?

Friday – April 8, 2011 What are we talking about? What are talking about today? This is a wide and varied question. Some like to talk about the political situation around the world. Some like to talk about the political situation here at home. I like to talk about the whole political situation. I had a conversation yesterday with someone that I am close with. We talked about the politics coming out of Washington and naturally the conversation centered on the president. Though I do not know who the person I was talking to voted for, I have my suspicions. It is fine that he may have voted for the President. If he did, what did he get? This was the basis of our conversation. There was a statement made in the conversation that I had to consider. Where would we be if John McCain was elected? I think, in fact I know, we would have been in a different spot. Certainly both Vice Presidents would have made for good political jousting. This is one thing we both agreed on. Considering this question, we must look at ideology and experience. I was no fan of McCain, but it was easier for me to vote for him rather than Obama. I believe the events in the Middle East would be far from what they are today, although most of the dissent we see today is a result of other governments and not ours. Having said this, our Mid East partners still need our help and our leadership. I believe McCain would have been much stronger and more public with a solution, instead of the solutions that the president supported one day and changed the next day. I do know for a fact that the Libyan situation would have taken a far different direction, if McCain was at the helm. Moammar Qadaffi would not have sent the letter he sent to Obama to McCain and call the President of The United States “our dear son.” I believe that the number of panels and commissions that were created under Obama would have been non existent under the leadership of McCain. The only reason a panel is convened is to get the answer that you don’t have. One example of this is the Deficit Commission. Former Senator (R) Alan Simpson and former Chief of Staff to President Clinton, Erskine Bowles, chaired this commission and came up with a report that was blunt, non partisan and one that made recommendations that are sorely needed in deficit and spending reductions. The results that the commission spent months on were met with deaf ears by the President. The reason why we do not have a budget for this year and are arguing about the remaining six months that remain for this year is that the president did not show leadership and has lost the battle. The reason why we are approaching a government shutdown today is not the fault of the new Republican Congress or the Tea Party. It is the fault of the man in charge that did not display leadership, good style and presidential guidance. Yes, the president said he is available and his staff is available to help, so what - they are supposed to be! He was late and the V.P. did little to avoid the situation we have today. John McCain would have been a bridge between both parties, he would not have been a leader that was absent and then claimed the victory when the smoke settled. There would not have been the contentious debate over healthcare and the resulting court battles. There would not have been a delay of two more years in bringing the perpetrators of 9/11 to justice. I do believe that John McCain would have been a strong voice that was listened to and not one that our enemies laugh at. I also know that McCain would have been, as he put it, “our enemies’ worst nightmare” he would have made no apologies. Mc Cain would have brought a respect to the Oval Office and the trappings that come with it. Under McCain, I believe that spending would have been high, but not like the levels we have today. Under McCain, we would not be talking about a government shutdown tonight. Under McCain, I believe we would have found yet another reason to help our country, instead of arguing about our country. I believe we would have had a beginning of a true energy policy, with the development of our own resources here at home. Under McCain, we would have had people at the seat of power that don’t hate the country, but love the country for what it stands for. I believe that many people were taken in by the words of the president and were silly enough to believe them and fashion a myth. Even though Senator McCain said he didn’t have enough experience in managing the economy that would have been fine, because the way this economy has been managed is far from perfect, it’s disastrous. I believe we would not have had the questions that surround this president’s blank background. All of what John McCain has said and written is public knowledge. We have his college test scores, his military documentation and, yes, his birth certificate. If the president has a birth certificate that says he in an American citizen then he should come forth with it. If he has a legitimate birth certificate and is sitting on it for political purposes then serious questions must be asked, not about his birth, but about his motives and more seriously, his intent. The majority of the President’s college transcripts are cryptic at best and much of what he has written is not available to view. These questions should not come up when we elect a president. Never before in our history has there been so much that we don’t know about our president. So, when I ask the question, what are we talking about, we can answer it this way. A president should be a known quantity. A president should be able to bridge the two parties. A president has to lead and not take the easy way out by voting present. In other words, a president has to do the heavy lifting. As I wrote at the beginning of today’s FORUM, I was not a fan of John McCain, but having seen the results of the predictable Obama myth, I can honestly say that I have been thinking and I have not been considering the myth. John F. Kennedy said: “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie --- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” Gregory C. Dildilian Founder and Executive Director Pinecone Conservatives A footnote: Let the president hide behind his myth, but don’t let him hide behind the facts and don’t let the powers in Washington say that you are wrong.