Thursday, October 4, 2012

I Have a Problem...

Hi all...

I have a problem.  A few weeks from now, I have the civic obligation to help the United States choose the next President.  I do not know what to do.

I am not thrilled with the current POTUS.  To be fair though, I congratulate him for placing the issue of health care on the political map indelibly.  Whether or not health care takes shape according to his vision remains to be seen.  Still, no President will be able to ignore the issue anymore.

Furthermore, I congratulate him on having the intestinal fortitude to make the final decision on invading a foreign country to remove an avowed enemy of the United States.  The list of things that could have gone wrong with that raid is long.  It was a gutsy call.

I have three problems right now.  The first is the voice vote that happened at the Democratic convention.  When the votes were 'counted,' it was clear that a significant group was against the inclusion of the platform item on Jerusalem.  While I think that the two parties in the US agree on this, it seems to me that the Democratic party is more and more becoming a home for people with negative views on Israel.  That is not the party of my youth.  It will not be the party of my old age.

The second problem involves the murder of our Ambassador in Libya.  It is coming out now that the 'right people' knew that it was terrorism within 24 hours.  The President and his staff maintained for over a week that it was random violence based on stupidity.  This affects my life directly.  It affects the lives of my Sailors and Marines.  I can be called to go to war.  Failure to name the enemy leads to confusion as to the goals of war, and whether or not those goals have been met.

The third problem is that being on a talk show should not trump meeting with heads of state in New York.

I am thus not voting for this President.

On the other hand, the only thing I like about Governor Romney is that his views on Israel are much more in line with mine.  Otherwise, I am worried about his level of compassion.  I am worried that he seems to put his foot in his mouth every time he speaks.  He also does not keep such great company.  The Tea Party people are as far removed from my belief system as the left wing of the Democrats.

Luckily, with every problem, there is a solution.  I have decided to write my own name in for the office of the President of the United States.

(The rest of this is a seamless blend of humour and seriousness.)

I have two platform positions.  The first is that I will work to lower the interest rate for federal student loans to 2% retroactively.  My second platform position is that I am not either of the other two candidates.

If I am elected, I further promise to take no salary.  It is an honour...oops...honor to be the President of the United States.  It does not require a paycheque...oops...paycheck.

I have definite views on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  I also realize that this is an inflammatory issue.  I will thus test the cold waters by recognizing the Arctic as part of the United States.  I suspect that Ottawa might withdraw my permanent residence status.  If that is all that happens though, there should be no problem with Jerusalem.

I understand that there is a world of difference between running for office and being the President.  I therefore will make no other promises.  It is my clever way of avoiding having to backpedal later.

R/SCG





3 comments:

  1. The intelligence on Libya was not good and the Republican cotrolled congress mandated embassy security cuts. You have never liked Obama and in my opinion you are using the events in Libya as a pretext for witholding support that never existed in the first place. If your worried about being "called up" you know in your heart that you are barking up the wrong tree. Just saying.

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    1. Actually, no. Please note that there were two other reasons for not voting for this President. Please note further that he has earned at least two compliments from me during his time in office. He is entitled to many more. At the time of this attack, I was firmly in the undecided camp, and leaning towards voting for President Obama.

      Within the last 35 minutes, a representative from the State Department told Congress that there was never a funding/resource issue for the security of the embassy in Libya.

      I would like to thank 'Anonymous' for giving me an idea for my next entry. It will have to do with concerns about being called up.

      R/SCG

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  2. The moment that Obama was elected objectivity went out the window. I heard you on numerous occassions express your dis-satisfaction with him. Please don't blame Libya. Give me a break Rabbi. We deserve more honesty from you. Its bad enough that Romney is lying through his teeth.

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