Monday, September 14, 2015

Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one... Here's mine (opinion)


By Dan Barber

Every four years Americans witness the clash of “The Giant Egos” where the individual who possesses the biggest and brightest Ego with the most money usually wins the contest to become President of the United States.

It seems the drive to become America’s Chief Executive Officer has been corrupted by the need to “feed the greed.” I have often wondered why anyone would want the job of U.S. President. The title carries a huge risk. One can leave the office with a legacy of greatness, or a legacy of a looser which is determined by a very narrow margin of the planet’s population.

I once read that some politicians and mass murderers share a psychopathic personality disorder because they usually don’t or can’t show empathy for the actions they take. They believe they are above anyone else, regardless of the “optics” or the math error in the “calculus.”

Deep study of a candidate’s character is vital for Americans to select a President who will leave office with a legacy of greatness.

Our current Commander in Chief and his family feels the need to escape the pressure of the White House with seemingly frequent and expensive vacations or weekend getaways such as “date nights” in New York City or for weekend golfing jaunts in Florida or Palm Springs, Calif., annual vacations in Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii, or first family trips to Europe and Asia. Obama’s supporters like to point out that George Bush spent more days on vacations then Obama. But, they leave out the fact that most of Bush’s vacation days were spent at his Texas home…much cheaper than flying around the country or globe on Air Force One. 

The image of our President hinges on coverage from the institution of the media. Images of a President playing golf on an exclusive golf course or playing in the surf on a Hawaiian beach are much more glamorous than a President chopping weeds on a Texas property.

Will this be the legacy of the Obama administration? To me and “my optics” Obama is a looser. I’m sure he is a very fine community organizer for Chicago or a union lawyer, but a huge failure for not only America’s populations, but for the world’s populations as well. Sticking one’s head in a golf course sand trap will not make terrorism go away. Blaming any number of problems on false political narratives (lies) or poorly produced videos will not cure them. Creating legislation through executive fiat or using like minded judges in the judicial branch of our government to force social change will not fully change social norms.

Refusing to consider compromise or allow input from any elected representative from an opposing political party in writing or rewriting legislation can only lead to disastrous results and added expenses for many citizens to deal with. Allowing a lazy or blindly loyal lawmaker to cast his or her vote for a bill without even reading it is in itself legislative malpractice.

America needs a leader who will lead not follow. In this next General Election, study the candidate’s characters before making your decision. Do not rely on a single “sound bite” or a speech delivered by an individual that was quite possibly written by someone else… try to balance the photo ops with reality.

Pay attention to the candidates and leave the belly button lint alone.

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