Obama's Speech

Last night Obama gave a speech where he tried to convince the country to let him double down on his failed policies.  He has already burned thru 4 trillion dollars and now he wants us to let him burn up another half a trillion.  This is just getting sad.  Even his own supporters are abandoning him.  It is getting to the point where you can't hear them talk about him without hearing the word "failure".  It does seem like he postured this speech as an attempt to put himself in a better position for the campaign by being able to say that the Republicans are stopping him from fixing the country, but at the end of the day, that is pretty cynical of him.  People aren't going to forget all the money he has wasted already, and if those policies worked, we would see it by now.  He is as leftwing as it gets, and he is publically proving to the world that leftwing policies are a joke.  The true believers in the media and colleges will not accept the truth though, so as Obama goes down in flames we will see them start to abandon him in droves.  You have to give him credit for having the courage of his convictions and sticking to them even when it became obvious they didn't work, but now itt's time for the country to abandon leftwing policy, and do what works.

Republican Debates!!!

I watched the Republican debates last night.  Overall it was a good night, and very interesting. 
I think Mitt Romney did pretty well.  He always does pretty well, but never quite good enough to steal the show.  He just seems too polished and contrived.  It's like everything he said was extensively focus-group tested before he was willing to say it. 
Rick Perry clearly is the frontrunner now.  He jumped into the lead as soon as he entered, and now is the prohibitive favorite.  You could tell that he was just warming up last night.  He was strong, but not as strong as he can be, and had a few miscues.  Everyone including the moderators ganged up on him, and tried to make him look as bad as they could.  I really liked how honest he was about Social Security.  It is painful to watch all the other candidates contort themselves into trying to say that it is a wonderful program that just needs a few tweaks and it will be right back to good.  Perry steps up and tells the truth: it is going bankrupt, and is threatening to take the country with it.  He is bold, and willing to take on the third rail of politics.  It might be his undoing, but if he pulls it off, he will be doing the country a favor. 
After those two, my next favorite is Newt Gingrich.  It is such a shame how he torpedoed his campaign a week after starting it.  Ever since, he has been crawling his way back up, but it will take a near perfect performance to get back in the lead now, and he simply isn't that consistent of a campaigner.  It's a shame, because he has a lot to offer the country. 
Michele Bachmann is steadily slipping in the polls.  I like her, and hope she uses this exposure to become a true force in the House, and maybe run again the next time the cycle is open.  I do not think that with as little experience as she has that she can pull off an upset, especially now that Perry has stolen her thunder. 
Cain, and Santorum are both decent guys that have a lot to offer, and some of their ideas need to be cannabalized by the frontrunner, but they simply are not going to be the candidate. 
Paul and Huntsman leave me scratching my head.  What are these guys trying to do?

European Debt Crisis

The PIIGS are falling apart.  (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain) These are the countries that have racked up the most debt, and gotten to the point where they are struggling to avoid default.  Most are going around asking for bail outs, or just simple hand outs (anything they can get!) They have spent so much money for such a long time that they have not only run out of all their own cash, but also they have spent up every single dollar that they can loan from anyone else.
It is important to note that this is not corporations that caused this mess.  This is the governments of each of these countries.  They have created programs where they promised money to people in exchange for their votes, just like here in America with our Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs.  They have taxed more and more money so that they can buy more and more votes, also just like here.  This has brought on fiscal ruin.  We know that this is exactly what is coming to America as well if Obama continues to destroy our economy. 
Many of these countries are rich in resources, and have well educated populations.  There is no circumstancial reason their economies are falling apart.  It is simply a result of too many people allowing themselves to be bought off by politicians spending other peoples' money. 

Perry's Vetoes

I recently read about Rick Perry when he first took over as Texas Governor.  On his first year in, he struck down more laws with his veto then any other Texas Governor had before in the history of the state.  Now, of course the left wailed and screamed.  They attacked him in every way they could imagine, and called him every dirty name they could think of.  But he took it in stride, and instead of apologizing for it, he touted it as one of his proudest accomplishments.  This set the terms of the debate for his long run as Governor.  Instead of always pushing the envelope and seeing what they could get away with, he had the left on the run.  He wouldn't cave to their demands or allow them to frame the issue.  Instead they were just trying to protect the hideous programs that they already have on the books. 
I think this speaks to Perry's character, and shows that he might have the strength to be a real leader.  Not only that, but also an effective leader.  In todays political climate, if you are not as corrupt as the left, then they will try to discredit you in any way they can.  They frame the issue as them of course being the rational ones and you being extreme.  Then they try to talk you into "just compromising on this one issue".  Once you admit to their terms and compromise then you are accepting the terms they have set, that you are extreme.  Then it is only a matter of time before they have you compromising on issue after issue, until you are basically just a Democrat lite.  It is important to find politicians who not only understand the stakes in todays' issues, but also have a talent at being able to frame it so that they are in control of the conversation.  But most of all, they have to have the backbone to be able to stand up to the nonstop assault of liberal interest groups and pundits. 
Perry has shown that he has the backbone to stand up to these kinds of assaults.  He has shown that he can take control of the conversation, and lead it in the right direction.  He is well aware of the stakes in the modern game of political brinkmanship.  I would like to see him improve on his ability to coach issues in more politically palatable ways, but given how thoroughly Obama has wrecked the economy, that might not even be nessecary in this election cycle.  I think he could be a strong leader, and a bull for our economy.