If U Don't Like Obama

On July 18, 2012 was the first time I heard that John McCain was taking heat for picking Sarah Palin over Romney for his Vice Presidential candidate, recently former Vice President (VP) Dick Cheney also said it was a mistake. There are a couple of thoughts as to why the Republicans are feeling this way. One, they feel McCain could’ve done better against Obama and two, if Romney failed along with McCain perhaps he wouldn’t be running now. Many felt Palin was not qualified to be VP as she was only a Governor and didn’t have the experience at the federal level. If Palin wasn’t qualified as VP then why in the heck would anyone think Romney (was Governor of Massachusetts for only 4 years) is qualified to be President?    

Romney was running around saying the President hadn’t done enough for veterans. On April 20 we heard that Veteran’s Affairs is adding 1900 mental health workers in order to prepare for the return of soldiers. I also heard that wounded vets are getting help from trained dogs that can open doors, turn off lights and more. On June 1 it was reported that the House passed a veterans funding bill that will boost health care spending on those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. So what is Romney talking about? Is this another change of direction? If he’s going to cut the deficit how is he going to improve the wellbeing of our veterans especially since he doesn’t want to raise taxes on rich Americans like himself? 

On July 25 Romney appeared at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada and said – The President has diminished American leadership and we’re reaping the consequences. According to the Morning Edition from NPR News, Romney called the president weak and indecisive, adding that his “radical policies are weakening the military and putting the country at risk”…If you don't want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I'm not your president. But with his cuts to the military, you have that president today…This is no time for the president's radical cuts in our military. (Referring to the potential big cuts to the Pentagon budget as part of a deficit reduction deal passed by majorities of both parties in Congress last year. If Congress can't come up with a deal on alternative cuts by the end of this year then automatic cuts take place. In Romney's speech, President Obama has sole ownership of those automatic cuts.) NPR said Romney barely mentioned Iraq, where the US combat role has ended. But he did criticize the president's decision to draw down the troops sent into Afghanistan. He also said: The president would have you believe that anyone who disagrees with his decision is arguing for endless war. But the route to more war and potentially to attacks here at home is a politically timed retreat. Romney asked the crowd: Have we gained greater confidence among our allies and greater respect from our adversaries? And perhaps most importantly, has the most severe security threat facing America and our friends, a nuclear-armed Iran, become more likely or less likely? Again, I’d like to know what Romney’s real action would be. My November 21, 2011 - GOP Candidates blog has both Romney and Gingrich saying they would go to war with Iran. Is America ready for another war?

On July 21 we’re told that George W. Bush is skipping the GOP convention next month. It’s said that Bush has kept a low profile since leaving office in 2009 and has said he has no interest in taking on a more visible role. Bush told the conservative Hoover Institution: “Eight years was awesome, and I was famous and I was powerful… But I have no desire for fame and power anymore. I don’t want to undermine our President - whoever’s President and a former President can do that. Either you’re in or out of politics...You can’t be halfway.” On July 29 former VP Cheney said he also wasn’t going – he’s going fishing instead. In my opinion this continues to show that the Republicans don’t fully support their candidate.  

On July 21 we also heard that the President ordered a cutoff of charcoal imported from Somalia in an effort to starve the Islamic militants of resources and the White House is reconsidering student loan debt in bankruptcy cases. A study published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a suggestion for Congress: reconsider allowing student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy and require schools to be more active in educating student borrowers on the potential risks of excessive loan debt. Bloomberg Businessweek reports the student loan market grew by $15 billion between 2001 and 2008 and that many loans made over that period were underwritten with “lax” standards. Additionally, more than 5% of all private student loans worth more than $8.1 billion are currently in default.

Roseanne Barr is running for president (Peace and Freedom Party) because she thinks both the Republican and Democratic parties have gotten out of hand. I tend to agree as the Supreme Court in its 2010 decision has allowed more money to be wasted in contributions to SuperPacs. There hasn’t been and still isn’t much support for other parties (in the 1990s Ross Perot was the only alternative party that made a dent). Per the Ballotpedia.org website there are 23 political parties recognized in the US. We don’t need any more parties; we need the process to change and honesty and equality to prevail. If you don’t like Obama, vote for Roseanne.