Election 2008 Epilogue

Today, as we move forward from this presidential election, it is critical that we find closure and reunite as a nation. Obsessive coverage has dominated our attention for two years, now. The anger and divisiveness it has caused among Americans must be healed. For me it is therapeutic to acknowledge and understand the many emotions that this election has left in its wake.

First, the sheer length of the campaign (two years) has been a disservice to the people of this nation. ONE BILLION DOLLARS have been raised and spent by the candidates. This is an incredible amount of money. Imagine the social programs that money could have funded. And when one candidate outspends his opponent by a 3 to 1 ratio it gives him a huge unfair advantage. Some method must be devised that levels the playing field with regard to campaign spending. Further, the American people do not need two years of the divisiveness and anger that presidential campaigns create. I believe future presidential campaigns should be limited to one year. I think Congress should enact legislation to accomplish these objectives.

The next issue on my mind is the media. In my opinion, the news media failed the American people during this election. Along with the first amendment that guarantees us free speech and freedom of the press comes a huge responsibility. That responsibility is to provide the American people with RESPONSIBLE, UNBIASED reporting. The media have enormous power to mold the opinions of the people. Why do you think so many countries and dictatorships around the world control their media? If you control the media, you control the hearts and minds of your people. Hitler did it. The Soviet Union did it. Iran does it now. In the past, Americans were able to get unbiased reporting from the newspapers and the nightly news. During this campaign, however, the media overwhelmingly set out to mold the minds of the people in order to elect the candidate of THEIR choice. Of course the media have the right and the obligation to provide the people with commentary and editorials. But they need to label them as such. They did it in the past. Did anyone ever know Walter Cronkite's political leanings? I don't think so. How many of today's news anchors can you say that about? This year I found myself switching from conservative to liberal stations and newspapers in an attempt to get the true stories. Then I had to separate objective information from slanted. Thousands of Americans do not have the time or education to do that. Election outcomes should not be determined by the media. The people deserve better.

My third issue is campaign tactics. Each election the candidates and their parties let the American people down. Although they promise to stay on issues and not resort to smearing, they always do. The smear tactics and personal ridicule used against Governor Sarah Palin during this campaign, for example, reached a new low in presidential politics. Senators Obama and Biden, the Democratic Party and the media launched a personal smear campaign the likes of which I have never seen. I have no problem with them attacking a person's record or policies, but a hysteria campaign of this nature is just plain wrong. And both sides resorted to negative campaigning in the end. In addition, neither campaign laid out specific ideas and plans for their platforms. They continued the use of generality propaganda. How are we to decide which candidate has the better plan if they don't show them to us? I believe a contributing factor to Senator McCain's defeat was his failure to get the word out regarding the cause of the financial meltdown and why we went to war in Iraq (see my articles on the financial meltdown and why we went to war). That brings me to the subject of our outgoing president, George W. Bush.

The bashing of President Bush by both candidates has been grossly unfair. In my opinion, George W. Bush has been the most undermined president in the history of our nation. For partisan political gain, the Bush administration has been undermined since the last presidential election when Senator John Kerry began undermining efforts of the president and eroding the unity of the people while this nation was at war. And since that time, the Democrats, with the aid of the media, have undermined everything the Bush Whitehouse attempted to do, from the War on Terror to the reforming of Social Security, which everyone knows is bankrupt and in dire need of reform (again, read my articles on the financial meltdown and why we went to war).

The election is over, now. What's next? On January 20th, Barack Obama will take the reins as President. He will have an overwhelmingly democratic Congress behind him, resulting in nearly unbridled power. I remain seriously concerned about the same issues that concerned me during the election: Mr. Obama is one of the most far left members of the Senate with no history of bipartisan spirit, a man who wanted to pull our troops out of Iraq regardless of the consequences, who was against the surge and still won't admit it worked, who wants to cut military spending while we are at war, who voted to withhold funds for our troops at war, who does not understand how to deal with rogue nations and leaders that want to do us harm, who will redistribute wealth from some and give it to others who don't even pay taxes, who wants to increase corporate and capital gains taxes, who wants government run healthcare, and whose policies will abandon the principles of free enterprise that made this nation in favor of the socialist principles that have already failed in Europe and will cost the American taxpayer trillions of dollars.

In retrospect, now that Senator McCain has lost the election, I believe it may have been a blessing in disguise. You see, had John McCain won the election, he would have presided over an overwhelmingy democratic Congress that would have opposed and undermined every move and initiative he made, just as it has done with President Bush. Senator McCain would have had no chance of instituting any of the programs and changes he put before the Congress. He and his administration would have been blamed for the actions of the democratic Congress, just as George W. Bush has been blamed for the actions of the current democratic Congress. Now, whatever course our country takes over the next four years, the Democrats will have to take responsibility. I only hope that President-Elect Obama and his administration moderate some of their extreme left-wing, socialist principles when they take office.

I leave you with my final thoughts. The long campaign is over. It has angered and divided the American people. You have read my concerns and frustrations. I have serious concerns about our future. Our ability to objectively vote and determine who the leaders of our country will be is in serious question. Despite these issues we, now, need to put our differences aside, come together as Americans and fix what's broken. We have no other choice.