2009

Now that 2008 has come to an end, the election is over and the country has chosen a new President with an entirely different political agenda supported by a congress with similar political affliction, its time to assess where we are and where we can go from here.

Quick Summary of 2008: (the high/low lights)

The Election - The American chose style over substance. This may sound totally partisan but President Elect Barack Obama does represent so many things that are against the general public view that I must be at least partially correct. What made this so easy was the republican party's inability to present a candidate that embodies their core beliefs and instead chose an individual that seemed to have the ability to garner enough independent voters to get elected. This short-sightedness of the conservative electorate combined with an unpopular administration. Much of the public's distaste for the administration was generated by the leaders of the democratic party skill in assigning blame for all the country's ills on the President with the help of the media. Another item that made this accrediting possible is the enduring distrust of the republican party from abusing their positions when they had the power in recent history.

The Economy - Yes, the economy went into the tank in 2008. We can go back and review why this happened but its demise was triggered by increased gas prices. The financial system has been teetering on the edge of disaster for quite some time due to long term fiscal policy designed to artificially boost people's ability to own homes beyond their means. When world demand for oil exceeded the supply (due to emerging markets in China and India) gas prices skyrocketed and the fragile personal finances of many American households exploded. A much larger percentage of the household budget went to fuel the SUV and the cost of all products that had to be shipped increased and people could no longer make their overextended mortgage payment. Demand for products and services decreased, industries struggled (put mildly), businesses close and workers were laid off. They say the worse is yet to come and everyone is looking for the U.S. federal government to bail them out, although the government is overextended.


What to watch out for in 2009:

President Obama - I am going to watch has the President skillfully attempts to lower the massive expectations he created for the American people. The President Elect anticipated this maneuver and took his lofty goals off one of his websites shortly after the election. He has already begun this by rewording his employment goals from "Creating 3 million jobs" to "Creating or saving 3 million jobs". Now that reality meets expectations, it should be interesting.



The inauguration, or should we call it the Annointing of the Chosen One or The Mesiah Taking his Throne, should be fun to watch!

Democratic Congress - It will actually be fun to watch the administration and the congress battle over power. You can be sure that Speaker Pelosi will not concede to every whim of the President over the next four years.

Fairness Doctrine - The democrats will attempt to bring back this doctrine in an attempt to shut the opposition by making radio stations run unpopular liberal shows to counteract the popular conservative shows. This will put a financial burden on radio stations and force many to stop broadcasting conservative radio show.

Republican Party - We will see if the republican party can "clean their own house" and find their conservative values again and more importantly, can they make American believe they mean what they say this time. Governor Palin went a long way in establishing a return to this agenda but will need more believable conservative to follow and practice what they preach.

On a more personal note, I am going to determine if it is practical and feasible to begin a political career. I am going to try and meet with the leaders of the local republican party to see if they will support me. I am going to determine exactly what it takes to become a politician and if I have the means and personality and charisma to pull it off. Finally, I will be establishing a website to define exactly what I represent, what I believe and what I think will help this country.

As soon as I establish my website I will forward this onto all of you.