In Search of Optimism

"I wish I could say that the American elites here???people with money, connections or world-class expertise, or in many cases all three???were brimming with optimism. But they aren't, which means that they are not much different from you and me."

Speak for yourself Howard. Plenty of us are brimming with optimism. Stop confusing the beliefs of "elites" as reality. Or better yet, stop hyping gloom to get your candidate elected.

I am an avid reader of history and it is clear through the history of our nation or major civilizations that transformations many times require a visionary. Without going into a hisory lecture, think of the great leaps we made in the last century, they coincide with men of thought and ideas at the head of the nations, think Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Kennedy. Aside from these men, only Reagan comes close because he right or wrong pursued policies that doomed the Soviet Union. It may not be a generational leap forward on the same level as the other three, but can you imagine if today the "Evil Empire" existed along with a post 9-11 world? We would have WWIII for sure.

In this day and age as in everyday and age we have issues and we elect Presidents to fix the symptoms, we only truly look for more in a President when there are so many symptoms we need someone who will fix the bigger problem not just put go around fixing issues as they are now or come about in the near future.

My point here is we are at another crossroads where we can choose to make a leap with someone conducive to ideas even if they are not his own and who possess an imagination to put it all together into a vision for America. Who among the 2 candidates do you honestly think has a chance of delivering that to America? To me, an independent, Obama can be that person, no one can guarantee it, I am not going by soaring speaches or charisma, but objectively I see him able to bring that to us. I certainly cannot see a 30 year veteran of the political system who must have had a ton of chances to deliver the "transcendental" changes he now claims to embrace, be it climate change or getting us off our dependence on foreign oil or for that matter proposing any one bill to do with the economy or economic benefit for us the public. I know his track record indicates ZERO accomplishments. I am very happy with his signature efforts at campaign finance reform, but that does not put food on my table, I am happy he has been a good senator, but we need a leader of a nation in transition. Can anyone tell me otherwise? He has had 30 years, can you seriously tell me his record is all that is achieveable in that time?

Obama may not be it in the end, no one elected FDR or Teddy with a guarantee, the people took a chance based on the situation needing it, it worked, and we are lucky for it. Can you forgive yourself McCain and a few years later see that we have more band-aids but no cure? I DO NOT want to elect just another President to join the pantheon of so many other we have forgotten about. For me its a decision between somehow overcoming today only to have issues a few years later, versus an actual future of promise. You should decide for yourself based on your prioritires.

You got it right, jenxyz78. You said it just the way it has to be said. These Republikans are exactly like Calvin Cooledge (Mr. Deregulation of the 1920's) and Herbert Hoover. Actually, the Republican Party is the FATHER OF LIES! It has been one big lie since Reagan took power in 1981. He eschewed "piling debt upon debt for the convenience of the present to the deteriment of the future" (1st inagural address) and what did he and Daddy Bush do? Ran the national debt up to $3Trill (it's >$9Trill now, thanks to Dubya and his cohorts), gave us the S&L crisis of the '80's, leveraged buy-outs which eviscerated good companies, crook Keating, Junk Bond Milken, jobs oversees. After the S&L's what are we doing with the subprime crisis? It's the same old same old. Cast these followers of the Left Hand Path down into the bottomless pit with their master, Satan and his angels! Your Grandmother was so, so right!

There is nothing like a crisis to unify the American people. Our country has been at it's best when faced with crisis. From the Revolutionary War to the widespread, albiet temporary display of patriotism after the 9-11 attacks we have pulled together as a nation when in crisis. It seems however that we are too easily distracted by our own freedom to understand what is required to preserve it. As a whole Americans, the people of humanity for that matter, are generally concerned with their closest interests first. Security and comfort for our families and those dear to us. We spend our lives pursuing goals to reach that end. And now, as critical issues draw our attention to the larger picture, we blame our government for it's shortcomings and for the inevitable crisis we are sure to face. Before we point the blame at individuals in government we should accept that they have been doing just as we do. Concerning themselves with their closest interests first. And as the fiber of America unravels, we can only hope that the looming crisis will help us once again refocus as a nation.

Can we not do both, increase our domestic energy supply, while giving more tax breaks for solar, wind, and nuclear. Congress needs to get off their collective asses and start thinking about main street rather than wall street. Talking about religious extremists, the liberals have their own extremists that think that high gas prices are a great idea to go green! What a great idea.........middle class and lower class folks will not be able to pay for gas to go to work, We will all be sitting at home looking at the very clear blue sky with no place to go

The problem is so great and the options so limited I doubt the economy will ever recover to the point middle America has seen in the past, simply because the middle class is disappearing and may never recover.

The whole point of globlisation is to put American workers on the same economic level as the workers of all other counties, China and India included.and it has been said it now cannot be stopped.
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The trickle down economics introduced by Regan and pursued by the Bush administration and touted by McCain (now called supply side economics) is in and of itself very shortsided, in a consumer driven economy it is unwise to kill off the consumer.or even reduce the discretionary income by wage cuts and periodic unemployement and of course inflation has a profound effect.
Yet that is exactly what has happened. and the Bush/Cheny Co can't figure out why the consumers are not consuming
It worked fine as long as Americans were the suppliers but that in now behind us, greed and the shortsighted view held by these folks has brought America to it's knees.

Anent the comment by "thehappyamerican", I am very tired of the right-wingers who claim to be persecuted and vilified, when these same right-wingers think nothing of persecuting and vilifying liberals (which, btw, is not, and should not be, a dirty word). Can't we come to an agreement in this country that respect and good stewardship of our environment (the only Earth we've got), tolerance for those who hold different religious views, compassion for those who (often through no fault of their own) have fallen on hard times, and sensible (firm but nonbelligerent) foreign policy all help our country and make it great?

Sure not a gathering of the elite in this blog.

We ain't seen nothing yet! If Obama actually wins, the liberal media will celebrate but Wall Street will tank. The economy will go into a free fall. It will be Jimmy Carter all over again but worse. Obama is a real Liberal. People forget that Bill Clinton was a moderate Democrat. That is why the economy didn't fare too badly under him. Residual racism will rear its ugly head in America and either Obam or his wife will be assassinated! That is the future folks!

Yep, by the time either of them step foot on the White House steps the war will be over, it will be the economy and Obama will lose.

The general mood lately on these boards is that American has seen it's best days. Will we be owned by China, Russia, or OPEC by 2015?
The middle class is slowly being phased out- to the poor side- so I have to go with Democrats- I'm going to need those food stamps. ;-)
I don't think either candidate has the power to fix this. Our Senate and House are too busy arguing over their 'earmarks' to get ANYTHING done.
Phase out the 'earmarks', STOP the lobbyists, and if there is a conflict of interest, (Bush and his affair with Exxon) SHUT THEM DOWN.
That's the only way anything will change.

News & Notes --- You make some great points. When the smoke clears, the bias stops, and reality slaps us in the azz, these are the issues we are faced with. I do agree that McCain and Obama may not have been the best two choices (that's an endless debate). But, there is no doubt in my mind that Obama has the support, charisma, strength, and respect to at least bring us closer to the future that you are alluding to here.

Being as open-minded as a human-being can honestly be, I absolutely DO NOT believe that McCain has the MAJORITY of our nation's population's best interest at heart.

What a dillema our country is in.......China is licking it's chops, no matter who gets elected.