GOP clown car rolls on

That's Samuel Wurzelbacher, left, standing next to former presidential candidate Herman Cain. Wurzelbacher won the Republican nomination in his Ohio congressional district on Tuesday night. Cain might have won the presidential nomination if he didn't have a pile of lady-friend skeletons in his closet, which led to his dropping out of the 2012 race. The two of them standing together seems unlikely, yet so right.


You might remember Wurzelbacher from the 2008 presidential campaign when he was dubbed "Joe the Plumber." He became a favorite of Sarah Palin's and others trying to attach themselves to middle America, apple pie and the struggle of the working class versus the big, bad government.


I am not familiar enough with Wurzelbacher's campaign to comment extensively on his primary win last night. However, anyone standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Cain, and who is in the good graces of people like Palin, raises suspicions that the sappiest of Americans have once again gravitated towards the candidate with virtually no qualifications and perhaps a questionable IQ.


This was once a fairly heavy political blog. In recent months, the GOP presidential primary has made me all too aware of the fact that politics can be hazardous to my mental health -- particularly Republican politics, which now peddles nothing but absurd lies and champions the goal of turning back the clock on a whole host of social, scientific and educational topics. From Virginia, with its new abortion laws, to Ohio, with Joe the Plumber, what is the point in following this clown car around? If my  fellow citizens are going to keep electing people who not only cling to their Bibles and guns but also embrace a false notion of what it means to be American, who are we bloggers to try to reason with them?


This is no longer my fight. I'll vote and give my opinion on occasion, but the political battle must now be waged by younger people, and by women and others who are losing their rights every time Republicans take over a state house or gain a majority in Congress. This is a fight for the unions, the teachers and doctors to take on with greater gusto than the Baby Boomers alone can muster. I don't have as much skin in the game as people who will still be around in 40 or 50 years or folks whose professions have been stripped to the bone by right-wing governors and misguided, union-busting legislation. So out of self preservation, my political comments here will probably be few and far between in the coming months. Yes, I know the prime political season is upon us, but trying to make sense of this theater of the absurd could land me in the insane asylum. Instead, I will write about other things -- subjects that don't make my blood boil with each keystroke -- because it is clear to me now that we are in a place in our history where we are no longer willing to listen to each other or have intelligent, let alone constructive, disagreements.


Where I see measured and smart progress under President Obama, others see something very different, very ugly that I simply can't understand, let alone agree with. Where I see self-serving, dark hearts in Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santorum, others see plain-speaking patriots. Rather than try to explain this Mars vs. Venus political contrast, I am choosing a different path for this blog, but not without a few more parting words. Maybe more than a few.


No matter who wins the GOP presidential primary, about half of Americans will vote for the Republican candidate in the general election. That means half the people walking around America support things like going to war with Iran, cutting off unemployment benefits and getting rid of health-care reform, even though most people don't truly understand the ramifications of any of those actions. It's astonishing to me that people can actually vote against policies and laws created to protect them and their loved ones, but that's where we are at now. We live in a partisan society so dumbed down by talk radio and entertainers posing as journalists, so drawn in by snake oil salesmen and bumper sticker merchants, that a guy like Mitt Romney can be a leading candidate for the White House. Despite years of fighting a fruitless war in Iraq started by another intellectually challenged and obscenely wealthy Republican, Americans right of center are once again showing signs of doubling down on hawkish and heartless stupidity.


I can't figure out Americans anymore. I can't make excuses for us to my friends from overseas. We have lost our way. I know it; the world knows it. Doesn't mean we can't reclaim our status, but it's going to be a heavy lift in the current political climate. Are we still better off than a lot of countries? Absolutely. Yet, the gap is closing. More and more Americans are retiring to foreign lands, partly for economic reasons, and partly because the quality of life here has been degraded in the last couple of decades. It's gotten that way because the political system seems to only work for one group now -- the ultra rich. For most everyone else, life has become a struggle to varying degrees.


Even if voters come to their senses and elect Obama in a landslide, 40-plus percent of the public will still favor what the privileged conservatives are peddling. The new brand of conservatism preaches that anyone who supports higher education is a "snob" and that forcing transvaginal ultrasounds upon women seeking abortions is a right of the state. And it doesn't stop there.


I used to think it was my civic duty to be an informed voter and to not just blindly punch the ballot next to an R or D. That was when politics was an arena for serious ideas from serious candidates. I bounced back and forth, from left to right, prioritizing whatever was important in any particular election year and voting for the best man or woman to address those concerns. Nowadays, however, the Republican party has moved into such an absurd, uninformed and manipulative territory on essentially every issue, that I can't even view it as a legitimate alternative to the Democratic Party. Everyone I vote for, by default, will now have to have a D in front of their names whether I like them or not. I don't care if it's an election for county dog catcher, I am voting Democrat because Republicans have forced me into that corner. I don't like not having choices, but such is the state of our political system and a party that used to be far more concerned about the middle class than it is now.


Regardless of how I prioritize what is important, the corrupt Republican Party has nothing left to offer me. Right across the board, from the economy to the environment, from energy and defense to the arts, the GOP doesn't have a progressive idea on its plate. Not a single thoughtful approach to solving problems or creating new, smart opportunities in a changing world. Time and time again, the Republicans answer is to move backwards, to put our clean air and water in jeopardy in order to earn a few extra bucks today (the Hell with tomorrow), to pad the portfolios of the the one percent, to use clever twists of words ("job creators" being one of the biggest hoaxes in recent years) to form trickle-down illusions that all too easily fool the people who long for opportunities or a return to America's prosperous past.


These Kool-Aid drinking "dittoheads"  think a pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico will solve all our energy and employment problems. They never consider for a second what might happen to the economy if something seriously went wrong with that pipeline. They don't credit Democrats for wanting to take a careful approach to such a risky endeavor, for holding out for a better, safer deal. They want to plunge ahead, just like they did in attacking Iraq, without any discussion of consequences or honest studying of the evidence. They are the new Republicans -- completely ignorant of history, science and general facts -- and proud of it. These Republicans shoot first and ask questions later. They have short attention spans. They cut taxes on the wealthy and take on two wars, and then blame someone else for the national debt. They actually think the BP oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico had a happy ending. Remember, it wasn't the Republicans who forced BP into paying millions in damages. If the GOP had it's way, BP would have escaped with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and people in that region would have been suffering more than they already have.


Yet, I am not sure Gulf residents appreciate the fact that it was Democrats who forced the big oil company to be accountable. There is such a short-sighted, right-wing mindset in that part of the country that people can't see who is actually on their side and who isn't. In the South, being conservative doesn't mean conserving the environment, unfortunately. Instead, conservatism now means preserving weak regulations and flawed thinking that are often detrimental to the folks who are actually fighting against the people who want to help them.


This is depressing stuff. None of these right-wing clowns should ever get a sniff of being in public office -- not with their current values and lack of vision. I can accept a small minority of mindless extremists living amongst us. However, this is no small minority that is backing lunatic after lunatic. In fact, most of the South and entire mid-section of the country, particularly rural areas where education isn't always a priority, is falling into the traps set by the right at an alarming rate.


I understand hard times and desperation. I've experienced both. I don't, however, get why people think fighting more wars and giving greater tax breaks to the wealthy are solutions to problems in their specific lives, especially when these policies have never worked before. What is the connection between invading Iran or cutting Social Security and helping a family make ends meet in Iowa? If you're unemployed in Virginia, does it help you in some way for your political leaders in Richmond to focus exclusively on taking away women's rights? Wouldn't it be better to elect people who are at least trying to unearth innovative ways to allow you to keep your home or create a climate that will help you find work instead of voting for politicians whose main agenda has to do with contraception?


Explain this to me, seriously. What is it that attracts you voters on the far right to politicians who have no intention of doing anything other than fighting social wars that were decided a very long time ago while today's problems go unattended? Why were some of you so high on Cain? Is it because he was a successful businessman and you think he can do for the country what he did for the pizza business? Is that the only qualification you require, because there are a lot of successful business people in America, and I don't consider many of them qualified to handle the wide range of issues a president needs to command. Or maybe you just liked Cain's style and inability to speak proper English. Perhaps some people want to feel intellectually on par with their leaders and don't require them to know much about international affairs or anything else.


Personally, I want my president to be far smarter and more articulate than I am. It gives me confidence in the president when he at least appears to be well versed on complicated and crucial issues. If he can craft his own speech, great. If he can actually read the words, even better. Am I just being a "snob" for expecting these things from the leader of the free world?


It's also reassuring that the guy with his hand on the button is a calm, measured person who doesn't think that negotiation is some sissy-like approach to dealing with dangerous countries, yet is also willing to take a well-calculated shot when the enemy is in his crosshairs. It is alarming to me to hear the GOP candidates talking about attacking Iran without a single intelligence fact about the situation at their disposal. It undermines the efforts our current president and the agencies responsible for making sure the Iranian situation doesn't spiral out of control. Yet, these candidates want us to believe they are wrapped in red, white and blue. Oh really? How many of them have had to go to Andrews Air Force Base and watch the caskets of fallen soldiers being carted away? Would they be so macho if their kids were in the line of fire?


These candidates are a joke and should be considered walking insults to anyone who truly cares about this country.


Why would anyone with a daughter, regardless of where they live, support comments and positions that come from the likes of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (the anti-abortion, invasive ultrasound guy) or Limbaugh (the radio talk show host who likes calling women sluts)? Still, these guys have their fans. McDonnell is said to be in contention for a vice presidential nod from whomever wins the GOP primary. Limbaugh, while losing sponsors after his latest tirade against women, doesn't appear to be losing his audience.


As I said earlier, following politics these days isn't what it used to be and could lead to feelings of utter despair if you are the kind of person who wants to believe we all live in a fair and just country, where our neighbors aren't eager to send our kids to war or take Medicare away from grandma. As voters, we should demand one thing of both parties -- that they work together for all Americans, not just lobbyists and the richest of the rich.


Unfortunately, the divide-conquer-and-deceive mentality is more in fashion nowadays than the collaborative, honest approach, which means nothing of any great significance will get done to improve most of our lives anytime soon.


Most likely there are people within your own family or on your own block who want to build massive walls along the border of Mexico, regardless of how much it costs, how bad it will be for the environment or how ineffective it will become (ladders and tunnels will easily defeat the wall). Dopey ideas rarely lead to positive results. Weak ideas are often appealing to those in search of a quick solution to a difficult problem. I have empathy for those who are negatively impacted by illegal immigration, but I have no tolerance for paying billions of dollars for some half-baked solution that is cartoonish in concept. Are we now incapable of coming up with a smarter solution than a massive wall? With all the technology available to us, a wall is the answer conservatives offer with such zeal and confidence? Should we also go back to horse and buggy in order to deal with rising gasoline prices?


The people in our personal lives who embrace these shallow ideas are most likely decent folks, I am sure, but they have taken the bait offered by not-so-decent politicians. The red meat that the right-wingers throw to our loved ones and other acquaintances is mighty tempting and doesn't require much thinking, but it is fill with false promises and plays to their emotions more than their minds. I am not sure it's worth losing friendships over modest political differences, but the more people move to the right, the more distant I feel from them because this is no longer just about politics.


There are people sharing office cubicles with you who think Cain, Palin and Joe the Plumber possess the intellectual chops to navigate us through complicated times. Some people actually consider the lack of intelligence and limited perspective in some politicians as an asset. Yup, in the modern Tea Party/Republican universe, being idiotic and reactionary scores you points with a large portion of the electorate. It's these people whom I steer clear of in my daily life as much as I can. There is no debating any of this with them. No matter what, they are going to support Sarah, Herman, Rick, and yes, even Joe. So whether I encounter these rabid, new conservatives at a party or in the office, my position is to avoid political discussions at all costs.


I can hear the drums beating already. "Run Joe, run ..." all the way to the White House. You know what, as absurd as that sounds, it's very possible it could happen. We could be looking at a President Joe the Plumber in 2016. Perhaps even worse, we could see President Santorum in 2012 if fair-minded but apathetic people don't vote because they think that Obama has the election in the bag. Look, as disappointing as Obama has been in being slow to address the economy and certain progressive causes, he's been a pretty good president so far, and the economy is getting better. He's worthy of a second term.


As bad as the current GOP crop of candidates is, don't rely on your neighbors, friends or family members to make the right choice in November. Get out and vote or else the whole country will begin operating like Virginia has since Republicans came into power this year.


In the meantime, I backing away from blogging about politics for a bit. I don't need to see or hear anything more from Republicans to know that I am no longer interested in whatever they have to sell. Watching the clown car is no longer entertaining to me.

Getting a lift from the blues

I discovered a new musician who I actually like -- a rarity for me in recent years. His name is Gary Clark Jr. He was one of the blues' performers who played at the White House last week. PBS aired the performance on Monday night.  If you like old school blues mixed with a dash of rock 'n' roll, I suggest checking this guy out.

Click here to watch a short video from his White House gig.


Clark reminds me of a mix of Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. Gritty vocals and some nasty guitar licks shape his sound. He's not overly produced or supported by computerized gadgets, light shows or an army of backup singers. Just a pure sound -- sometimes similar to Chuck Berry, other times Buddy Guy. He also seems to play nice with other types of musicians, which is sometimes a challenge for performers used to staying within their comfort zones.


I found it interesting that Clark uses Epiphone guitars -- the lower-end of the Gibson line. I wondered if that was a statement of his modesty, a good personality trait for any blues player who wants to keep it real. I am sure he can afford a nice Gibson guitar if he wanted one. Then again, there have been some blues players throughout history who have played wonderful guitar licks on instruments that consisted of little more than a block of wood and some rusty strings.


While Clark may upgrade his guitar collection at some point, I hope commercial success doesn't eventually change his music. The world needs more music that comes from the heart and less that is digitally tailored and packaged exclusively for money. It was good to see a new, young musician with the chops and desire to carry on the tradition of the blues. Gives me hope that music will eventually return to what it once was in America.


As a side note, I am glad we finally have a president who, along with being intelligent and a respected writer and speaker, is also cool. Genuinely cool. Not fake-politician-cool. You could tell President Obama was into the blues performances, so much so that he took the microphone and sang a couple bars on the final tune of the night.

All eyes on Florida

I haven't written much lately. To some degree, I attribute that to the chill of winter. The season tends to freeze my creative juices. Like some people, I feel worse all around in the winter. It's the time of the year when I always wonder why I left South Florida.


With that said, it's going to be in the mid 60s today, so no complaints from this blogger in Northern Virginia. At least not about the weather. Not today.


As Floridians head to the voting booths to pick a favorite Republican in today's primary, I am mildly curious to see which presidential candidate emerges. The rhetoric has heated up in the Florida sun in recent days, but unfortunately rhetoric doesn't always equal intelligence or honesty on the GOP stage. So, one has to take what is said by these wannabe presidents with a grain of salt. From what I have seen so far, this is a particularly desperate and mean-spirited group of candidates that has only modestly improved by the worst of the lot dropping out in recent weeks.


Florida is a diverse state. Unlike the previous three state primaries, I view Florida as more representative of America. While Florida has its rebels, misfits and folks who act like they've been out in the sun a bit too long, overall there is a demographic balance in the state, which is why many presidential general elections are pretty darn close. The state is not simply made up of white, evangelical Christians, who tend to vote one way for generations. Florida sways back and forth in the warm Gulf breezes from year to year, decade to decade, as its population shifts.


I suspect Mitt Romney will be declared the winner this evening, not because he's head and shoulders above the others, but because he's closer to that sweet spot that appeals to a broader range of voters than exist in Iowa or South Carolina. Romney is the "safe" choice.


However, when the general election finally arrives in November, I can't envision President Obama losing the Sunshine State to Romney or anyone else. While the economy there is worse than most places, Florida is a state where seniors vote on issues like Medicare and Social Security. Too many threatening proposals about those programs have been suggested by Republicans for Obama to lose the senior vote.


The Cuban-Americans in South Florida have always leaned right, but a new generation of Latino voters is moving to the left. They are not tied to antiquated GOP ideas. The harsh tone of Republican stances on immigration will potentially sink the Romney ship in Florida in November, assuming he's the nominee. The red-meat immigration comments made to gain votes in conservative states will not be forgotten by the people of Florida or any other state where that type of thing rubs people wrong.


I've always been fascinated by Florida. Everything from its people to its politics is interesting to me. Its clean beaches and casual lifestyle is good for the soul. It's a place where young and old can feel they belong. You don't need to be wealthy to live well in Florida, although if you are, there is no shortage of places where you will fit in. You can be from somewhere else and still be accepted in Florida. That isn't always true in other southern states or even in places like New England.


Yes, Florida has problems. It always has. Sometimes, like now, it's the economy. Other times it's been the crime rate or political corruption that has spiraled out of control. Yet, Florida remains an attractive place to get away to -- whether for a week or a lifetime. When jobs return to Florida, I suspect the population will increase rapidly again, as it has for decades. And the only way for jobs to return to Florida is for the U.S. economy as a whole to improve. In that regard, I will continue to place my faith in Democrats and Independents, and only be a casual observer of the GOP results tonight. It is clear to me, despite comments from the GOP presidential candidates, that Republicans have no interest in rebuilding the middle class in Florida or anywhere else. Romney, in particular, seems clueless as to what the middle class even is, let alone how to rebuild it.

Political feud sinks to a new low

Politicians in Washington are now arguing about when the President of the United States can address Congress.

Unbelievable.

Not only does the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, continue to disrespect Barack Obama the man, he is now disrespecting the office, and one could even argue he's trashing the country with his latest obstructionist behavior.

Democrats hated George W. Bush, but they didn't try to tear down the entire executive branch. For the good of the country, certain traditions were respected despite major political differences, even while Bush was attacking countries that didn't attack us and neglecting an economy that was in a free fall. For some reason, Republicans haven't been able to show that same respect for this president. Wonder why?

Despite the garbage spun by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Tea Party lunatics, Obama isn't a particularly radical president as far as presidents go. He's actually fairly moderate -- much more so than liberals wanted. In some ways, he's more Republican than Ronald Reagan was. So why the hate from the right? Hate that has made Republicans so insanely petty that one has to wonder what's in the filtered water at their country clubs.

The president wanted to give an address about jobs on Sept. 7 -- something we've been waiting three years to hear. However, Republicans didn't want their candidates' debate (scheduled for the same night) to be overshadowed by something as "trivial" as a major jobs address from the leader of the free world. The debate is one of many and will be filled with nothing but idiotic rhetoric from a field of candidates so weak that they make most fair-minded, thinking human beings cringe just to hear the nonsense that flows from their mouths.

Sure, Obama's jobs speech is way overdue and could turn into a campaign moment, but that's the privilege we give to sitting presidents. We give them the benefit of the doubt in hopes that what they are proposing is a real solution to what ails us. Or at least that was the perk given to every president prior to this one.

Well, Obama relented and moved his speech to Sept. 8. Again, this is just stunning that a president has to back down from a handful of fringe nuts in Congress over something as routine as scheduling a talk to the nation about our No. 1 problem.

Given a choice between listening to Michelle Bachmann drone on about subjects she knows nothing about or listening to whatever glimmer of hope the president might offer to the unemployed, I will tune into the latter, probably like most Americans. The Republicans knew that and successfully blocked it in an unprecedented and disrespectful manner, similar to the debt ceiling fiasco that they created and that led to our credit rating being downgraded for the first time in our history.

Despite pleas from the public for politicians to work together, it seems the GOP refuses to listen and is picking fights over the silliest issues that are leading us into total paralysis and worse. These are fights that were never fights before. Fights that only bring me to one conclusion about these renegade, unpatriotic Republicans. Destroying a black president is more important than saving a country. That's not playing the race card, it's just calling a duck a duck.

Keep this cowboy away from D.C.

Gov. Rick Perry scares me.

Why?

Well, besides being another Republican governor from Texas (the last one in the White House didn't work out too well), he's the only candidate who could actually beat President Obama in 2012. And that would be a disaster for America.

You see, Perry has one very big gun in his arsenal. He can point to data that supports his claim for having created jobs in Texas -- lots of jobs -- during rough times. That one surface fact, without further examination, could lead Americans to believe that Perry is the solution to our biggest problem, which remains high unemployment.

Perry could become a bumper-sticker candidate for bumper-sticker voters, a champion of the unemployed. His supporters won't bother to look at what kind of jobs have been created in Texas. The fact is, many new jobs in Texas have been at or near the minimum wage level. Some have been public jobs, which I thought was against all that is Republican, and have helped artificially inflate the total figure. But Republicans don't like to be bothered with analysis these days, particularly when they smell Democratic blood in the water.

While I made reference to our previous president, Perry is no George W. Bush. He's worse. Far worse. He fits the new GOP mold better than any Bush ever did. He can appeal to Tea Party fanatics and mainstream Republicans. His pathetic macho swagger often crosses the line and hints of violence. Not real presidential stuff. His flaunting of his time in the military is about as classless as it comes, especially when you consider all the politicians (past and present) who have paid a much more costly price through their military service.

My hope is that Perry self destructs from stupid comments on the campaign trail. However, even if he controls his tongue, there is enough in the Perry record that could give Republican voters some doubts.

Under Perry, Texas ranks as one of the worst states in terms of funding education. At least Bush pretended to care about providing a quality education. For the record, Perry has already criticized Bush for funding educational programs. That's truly remarkable, even for this shallow Texan.

Environmentally speaking, Texas has become the new New Jersey. Perry's hands-off-big-business approach to governing has turned sections of the state into toxic pits inhabited by corporate polluters, who in return create crappy jobs for under-educated Texans. This is the cycle of Texas life for many people.

And this is a feather in Perry's cap?

If I believed in the Biblical prophecy relating to the existence of an "anti-Christ," the words "President Perry" would send chills down my spine. In the race for who is the biggest evangelical candidate since Pat Robertson, Perry wins by a Texas mile. Or does he? (Insert spooky music here).

Republican candidates to this point have been laughable. This GOP field is probably the weakest I've seen in my lifetime. By weakest, I mean clownish, crazy-eyed and just idiotic. I bet even "W" is going to have a hard time endorsing any of these people.

Enter Rick Perry with his big Texas smile and forceful hand gestures, shooting from the hip at every opportunity he gets. His emotions are his strength, and they are also his major weakness. I like to think Americans want a president who is passionate but under control. However, I am not sure enough voters will take the time to distinguish between passion and just plain craziness, especially if we're still sitting at over 9 percent unemployment next year.

While Obama left the door wide open for a GOP win in 2012 by not addressing unemployment from day one in the White House, I can't stomach another president who is going to lean on God, Satan or Dick Cheney types to solve our serious problems. Yes, compared with the rest of the field, Perry and his firm handshakes, jobs talk and longevity in an executive office probably looks pretty good to some people. However, that says a lot more about the other candidates than it tells me about the Texas governor who presides over a state that tends to favor boots and twang over substance and progress. Perry knows how to play to that crowd, but will that cowboy "charm" work on the coasts where Bush fatigue still lingers and basic requirements for living differ vastly from Texas?

• Read more about the importance of creating good jobs
• An ugly start to Rick Perry's campaign

Tea Party to blame for bad deal

"The budget deficit is not the biggest obstacle to our prosperity. Lack of jobs and growth is. And the largest threat to our democracy is the emergence of a radical right capable of getting most of the ransom it demands."

– Robert Reich (Click here to read his entire blog posting)

I can't say it any better than Robert Reich stated in his blog today. We went from one crisis – the debt ceiling debate – to another much more disturbing and potentially prolonged reality. Without smart investments, a fair tax code and visionaries instead of obstructionists in Washington, I don't see how America will move forward culturally, economically or educationally. The Tea Party, and those who back it, are blinded by a single issue in which they see no gray areas or alternative solutions. And, for now, they have won.

The Tea Party pridefully doesn't listen to experts like Mr. Reich. They cling to the idea of there being simple answers to complex problems. In fact, any kind of facts, scientific proof or sense of economic reality totally escapes these extremists on the right, who truly seem averse to educating themselves about subjects that require an open mind and a little bit of studying. (See Sarah Palin's dumbest quotes.) They took a nugget of truth – Washington needs to manage its money better – and turned it into a movement that honors some of the least-capable politicians to have ever been elected to state or national offices. These people, with the help of ratings-hungry conservative talk-show hosts, fueled this current, self-inflicted crisis and drove somewhat responsible politicians to a "solution" that does little or nothing to inspire true growth and confidence in America. The only positive thing this deal does is to avoid a sure overnight catastrophe.

Whether the debt ceiling/deficit reducing deal passes the House and Senate is almost moot now. Jobs aren't going to come back as a result of this pending deal, which is exactly what Republicans wanted in order to insure that Obama does not get re-elected in 2012. Remember, the main goal stated by these current Republicans isn't jobs or the economy. It is making Obama a one-term president. No one who goes into a voting booth should ever lose sight of the fact that when the country was down, and people were out of work, the Republicans chose to prolong the agony of many Americans in favor of playing politics. That is a fact – stated on the record in 2010 by top-ranking Republicans – not my opinion.

There is no compromise or country-first angle in this debt ceiling deal. This is a Tea Party-driven pact with budget cuts that will surely hurt the most vulnerable Americans. When it fails, and jobs don't return, voters need to remember whose deal this really was and put the blame where it has belonged for the last 10 years -- on the far right, the right that continues to protect the wealthiest individuals and corporations on the planet while asking the rest of us to sacrifice everything from our paychecks to clean water.

Hyping the death of a terrorist

As I was driving home from work today, I heard a caller on a radio station say that in the course of his and most people's daily lives, the killing of Osama bin Laden isn't going to make any long-term difference. He spoke of other more pressing priorities and cautioned people and the media (including the dismissive talk show host who obviously wanted to hype the killing) not to make more of this than it deserves.

You know what? He's absolutely right.

It has been a good several days for President Obama. He proved he wasn't born in a foreign country or on another planet by releasing his long-form birth certificate. Then yesterday, he confirmed that he was indeed a patriot and a darn smart strategist by directing the military mission to kill bin Laden in a targeted manner rather than bombing the heck out of the hideaway in Pakistan. It's nice to have a president with guts and brains. Obama's not getting much credit from all the usual idiots, but I think the taking out of bin Laden pretty much sealed the deal for the 2012 election.

Well, maybe sealed is too strong of a word.

Bin Laden swimming with the fishes doesn't really do a lot for me. It's mildly satisfying at best but won't influence my vote. We have worse threats both in the international world of terrorism and in our own domestic backyard. I want my president focused on getting us out of wars and into jobs. I want a fair president who doesn't rob the poor and middle class in order to give to the rich. I want a visionary as a president -- a person with a sense of fairness, honor and respect for the planet.

Symbolic victories are just that -- symbolic. They don't lower gasoline prices. They don't get people back to work, slow down foreclosures or reduce crime. Symbolism doesn't cure cancer, stop corruption on Wall Street, educate young people or prevent oil spills. Those are far tougher problems that if solved would actually change millions of lives in positive, tangible ways for generations to come.

If Obama were to fail in his bid for a second term, it would probably be because of the sluggish economy. He can have bin Laden killed, show his birth certificate and rally young people into a frenzy in front of the White House, but if he doesn't address the economy in a meaningful manner, his re-election will not be a slam dunk. The caller on the radio, I suspect, represents how many Americans will feel once this feel-good moment from Sunday night wears off. As we enter the voting booth, we tend to focus more on what really matters in a practical sense. The demise of bin Laden won't get the potholes fixed. Nor will it stop people from trying to murder Americans.

The killing of bin Laden gives us immediate, primal satisfaction but doesn't put food on the table or teachers in the classrooms. As evil as bin Laden was, comparisons with Adolph Hitler by the media and others are absurd. Stopping Hitler changed the world. Killing bin Laden won't even prevent us from getting frisked at the airport.

We need a little perspective, folks. Seven or eight years ago this would have been a bigger story because bin Laden would have been perceived as a more viable threat. Now, as boxed in as he became, does anyone really think his death in 2011 is a game-changer in the lives of most Americans?

A coalition of America and little else

The chart on the left shows the so-called coalition countries that are allegedly involved in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. Note the "deployment status." (Click on the chart to enlarge).

Despite the political distortions out of Washington about our taking a backseat in this latest military action, it is clear that once again the United States has no problem essentially going it alone to police the world. As the chart indicates, our launching of bombs in Libya has been non-stop while most other nations sit idle.

Folks, we're spending over $1 million for every Tomahawk missile that we propel into Libya. No matter how honorable our intentions might be, do we have the money to spend on another campaign of explosions that is likely to produce even greater costs as time goes on? This isn't even our fight.

The cost of deploying American jets and ships to the region is off the charts. And I take no comfort in the fact that a handful of countries are cheering us on from the sidelines as we empty our wallets again.

We're still trying to recover from the worst recession of our lifetime and dealing with a record deficit, and we're doing so while fighting three wars. Running a peace-time economy in war-time era is beyond stupid. How do you explain to a layoff-weary nation that we need to keep bombing foreign lands rather than pay for unemployment benefits or job-training programs at home?

We bomb countries and don't seem to leave after we do, yet at the same time talk about possibly reducing Social Security benefits to save what we spend in a matter of weeks in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Libya. Republicans slam health-care reform but won't say boo about the expense of the war against the Taliban -- the longest war in our nation's history -- a war that is not winnable. There simply seems to be no fiscal worries whatsoever when it comes to flexing our military muscle, even when we're not at risk of being attacked.

It is truly amazing that ever since the U.S. got rid of the draft, Americans have lost interest in protesting something that is just as ill-conceived today as it was during the Vietnam era. We're still losing lives in no-win conflicts, but since no one is forced to serve anymore, well, the deaths and financial costs are just not on our radar screens.

We can't pay for basic domestic services anymore, but we can apparently fight a third war while coalition partners like Spain stand "ready to participate" in the attack. Ready to participate?

Yeah, right.

I never thought President Obama would drag his feet in getting us out of Iraq and Afghanistan, especially when we could use the money to employ teachers and rebuild infrastructure at home. But he has. What is more shocking is Obama's selling of this operation in Libya as something it is not. We're paying the check again and that is shocking at this time, in this economy and with this president in charge.

The media covers the Libya story as a military operation but says little about the battles we all face on a daily basis on countless American Main Streets. Reports fail to put Libya into context because there is no context for the average American. Additionally, the media, like the politicians, seems to have a tendency to take its eye off the ball. And the ball is and will continue to be the economy.

Source: Chart compiled from The Washington Post

Loose lips sink Boehner's credibility

When George H.W. Bush used the "Read my lips" comment to proclaim that he wouldn't raise taxes during his presidency, well, you know how that turned out. His reversing course cost him a second term.

So why would the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, use the same phrase this week to claim he is serious about cutting spending? Essentially, it's a tarnished political cliche and should be shelved for the next few decades. Plus, does anyone believe a politician who excludes the military budget and gives massive tax breaks to billionaires is serious about the deficit or the federal budget? Most people understand the need to cut government spending, but I can't believe Americans want to do it in the way Republicans are suggesting.

I am beginning to think that Boehner just isn't very bright, something some Republicans seem to pride themselves on in recent years. The other day Boehner bragged about his desire to cut government jobs, after first lying about how many federal positions have been created in the last two years by the evil Obama administration. He used the heavy-handed phrase "so be it" to explain how he didn't really care whether federal employees lost their jobs. You would think a guy representing a party that claims to have all the answers to the unemployment problem would be more careful with his words. Putting tens of thousands out of work -- regardless of whether that work is done in the private or public sector -- is not very intelligent or responsible, let alone caring. We don't need for a more competitive job market by displacing thousands of workers. Those federal employees pay taxes just like private-sector employees. I am not saying that some federal jobs aren't a waste of taxpayer dollars or shouldn't be trimmed, but the majority of government positions help to protect our food supply, teach our kids and patrol our streets. C'mon Mr. Boehner, don't kill what little credibility you might have by making Palin-like comments that show no insight or willingness to address the facts. Don't attack PBS (another GOP target) like it's the main reason for our deficit. Don't ask me to read your lips if you aren't serious about cutting from your pet projects.

Here's a fact: The rich are getting richer, the middle class is getting poorer, and the money and jobs are not trickling down as wealthy conservatives continually claim will happen but never does. The dwindling middle class needs to wake up and read the facts.

As I watched a documentary about Ronald Reagan recently, I wondered how Reagan could have turned his back on people who needed a hand when in fact his own family, as he was growing up, received government assistance to weather the economic storm of his childhood. Without that government intervention, Reagan might not have gone very far in life. Heck, he and his family might have found it hard to simply survive or put food on the table. Many people need a helping hand at some point in their lives, something Republicans fail to comprehend. They see it as a weakness. It was Reagan, the first Democrat-turned-Republican to make it to the White House, who made it OK to turn away from those down on their luck. But even Reagan wasn't quite as ruthless or dishonest as the current crop of conservatives. He had some redeeming qualities, unlike today's hardcore conservatives who seemingly want the middle class to go away so that the fat cats can get fatter.

Then there is the military and the funding for our policing the world.

Look, I am all for a strong defense. But I am not for overkill, especially in lean times. We already have enough explosives and war machinery to destroy the entire world multiple times. How many aircraft carriers do we need to stop underwear bombers? But hold onto your wallets because the Republicans, not the Democrats, are aiming to take your Social Security away or delay benefits until you're too old or dead to collect much of anything. Yup, Social Security is just one of those old, nasty government programs that new Republicans hate. In their eyes, the money would be better spent on occupying some foreign land.

So no, I won't support Boehner's selfish beliefs and inarticulate cliches. If Republicans and Tea Party radicals want to make a case for turning off grandma's heating (a miniscule savings at best), they better first find a way to milk their own sacred cows -- the extremely wealthy, the oil companies, the military. That's where the real recovery could occur without breaking the back of Americans who have nothing left to give. That's not class warfare, that's just a sense of fairness -- something we are losing in recent years as we allow one political party to fuel the flames of hatred towards the unemployed, the elderly and anyone else who isn't in a position of power.

And please, let's not even get into Boehner's so-called humble background. As I mentioned, Reagan also forgot where he came from as he stuck a dagger into union workers -- this from a man who was the head of a union early in his career. You would think these types of self-made human beings would help lift others up, but they don't. It's not in their nature. They believe that hard work was solely responsible for their success and that unsuccessful people just aren't vigilant enough.

Any talk of addressing the deficit must begin with where the money really lies, not with nickel and diming the middle class to death and robbing folks of their benefits that they worked for a lifetime to obtain. Not investing in clean energy and education, while continuing to cater to big oil and rich bankers, is short-sighted at best. If Republicans want to act as patriotic as they claim to be, they can start by demanding more from their entitled friends who rarely give back to society in any meaningful manner but seemingly get every tax break known to humankind.

Since becoming the leader of the House of Representatives, Boehner has displayed almost no leadership ability or big-picture thinking. His tone is often hyper-political and confrontational, and could lead to the government shutting down in March if the budget debate worsens. Boehner shoots from the hip and only has the back of the most privileged people in society -- the people and corporations who financially support his campaigns. He is, like so many Republicans these days, a political machine, void of any sense of fair play or fresh ideas. He is the perfect modern-day Republican -- a visionless version of Ronald Reagan with lots of tears and no heart. His shining city on a hill is gated and consists of CEOs driving around in large SUVs while their employees watch their health-care premiums go up.

Republicans are exposing their true identity and lack of intellect lately. You don't have to read between the lines to see it. You just need to read their lips.

Health care a distant second to jobs

Republicans like to refer to the U.S. House of Representatives as the “people’s house.” Ever since the election in November, they have been on a mission to conduct what they say is the No. 1 priority of the people – repealing health insurance reform.

There is only one problem with that. It’s not true.

According to every legitimate poll, including the recent CBS News/New York Times survey, unemployment (still over 9 percent and much higher in some parts of the country) continues to be the top concern of the majority of Americans. Joblessness is causing cities, towns and local governments to decay. Buildings are still boarded up. Foreclosure signs continue to litter many neighborhoods. Yet, the new House of Representatives, led by John Boehner of Ohio, charged ahead last week and voted to repeal the recent health-care reform package, labeled “Obamacare” by radio talk show hosts, as well as Boehner himself, who should be above this sort of parochial nonsense.

It is appalling that the House has chosen to make this symbolic repeal vote its first major piece of business, particularly when millions of folks are still out of work. And to be fair, I have also stated in this blog that President Obama was wrong in highlighting health care while unemployment was seemingly on the back burner during his first several months in office. Only now has Obama, with his upcoming State of the Union address, seemed to have shifted his full attention to jobs.

Little has changed in American politics in recent months. Republicans won big in November for one reason and one reason only: They were not the party in power while unemployment hovered around 10 percent. Somehow they took what American voters told them (fix unemployment) and twisted it into some sort of mandate to attack everything Obama, including needed financial and health-care reforms.

Trying to tie unemployment rates to health care legislation, as Republicans are now doing, is not only contrary to every objective economic study, but it is also proven to be incorrect by recent history.

We didn’t have insurance reforms when we got into this economic mess three years ago. We didn’t even have the law for the first part of the Obama presidency. So repealing the act and expecting jobs to miraculously reappear is not only wrong, it’s ignoring the need for feasible economic solutions.

Where are the studies showing that repealing health reform will reduce unemployment? Probably in the same file that suggests the wealthy create jobs with the extra money they get back from Uncle Sam. Instead of making these broad and often outdated assumptions, Republicans (and GOP-slanted media outlets) should produce facts based on objective research. Show me sound data that says for every $50,000 a billionaire saves on taxes, that money is used to hire someone. Until then, I have a hard time accepting these trickle-down theories, particularly when the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and the middle class continues to widen.

Going back to a system that allows insurance companies to gouge customers, or worse, lets people needlessly die, is not going to put America back to work in jobs that pay livable wages. Losing one’s house because they got sick isn’t going to improve the real estate market. The mood of the country isn’t going to get better by funding unjust wars or continuing to ship jobs overseas.

Congress needs to do better, act with more dignity and intelligence, while attending to the real-life issues that continue to confront our nation. Getting sucked into a Palin/Limbaugh universe is a recipe for further economic and personal disaster. Jobs not only propel the economy, but they also fuel individual self esteem and tighten the moral fabric of this country.

It is time for politicians to turn off Fox News and pay attention to what real journalists and pollsters are reporting. The margin of error for most scientific polls is 5 percentage points or fewer. With health care well behind jobs in most polls in the last two years, there should be no excuses to not make the economy the No. 1 priority in Washington, state houses and the media. The people have spoken. Will Mr. Boehner and others listen, or will they continue to misinterpret the message from the 2010 elections?