POTUS No. 9

"My Last Rambling On Politics"

Over the past year, I have posted a number of political blogs on this site that were heartfelt, conservative and for some of my Democratic friends, fairly irritating. Apparently, I said what I needed to say fairly well.

From the day the calendar turned to 2008 back in January and the real election was on, I've believed that the decision we make on Tuesday - deciding whether John McCain or Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States - is more than simply a political race. I believe it's a fight for the soul of America.

In the five weeks since my last blog, Barack Obama has made it clear that his objective as President is the redistribution of wealth in this country. In his mind, those in the middle class/working class need a leg up. They need a break. They need to be given what in their minds they have not been able to get for themselves. And according to Obama, "the rich" in our country are the ones who need to give it to them. The thing is, the closer we get to the election, "the rich" continue to be a moving target.

In the three Presidential debates, Senator Obama said anyone making less than $250,000 a year wouldn't see an increase in their income taxes, capital gains tax, or property tax. Last week, Obama dropped that number to $200,000. In a speech earlier this week, Joe Biden quoted the number at "anyone making less than $150,000" and today, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson set the number at $120,000 in a campaign speech on Obama's behalf. It doesn't take new math to see where this is going:

"If Barack Obama is the engineer of a giant freight train rolling backwards toward the American people at 150 mph and there are 100 million people strapped to the rails with nowhere to go, how many people and businesses does the train have to kill before it will stop?"

The thing is, 99% of America won't ever hear these quotes, much less hear them before Tuesday. The press is so overwhelmingly in the tank for Obama that they're just laying down like a bunch of dogs on any story that might even have a hint of controversy. Conservative talk radio and certain corners of the web are the only places even raising questions about Obama. And that, more than anything else, frustrates me about Tuesday.

You'd like to think most people will go into the voting booth with an educated viewpoint about why they're pulling the lever for Obama or McCain. But that requires the opportunity to review fair and balanced information. In this election, the negative coverage of the McCain/Palin ticket and the protective shielding of the Obama/Biden ticket has been both overwhelming and embarrassing.

When I was in college in the Journalism school, if I had covered any of my stories the way the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, or NBC have covered this election, I would have failed every assignment. And so have they.

Now before you accuse me of sour grapes, or giving up, nothing could be further from the truth. I do think Senator McCain has a fighting chance on Tuesday and I do pray, and hold out hope, that when push comes to shove, the American people will see Obama's redistribution of wealth to be the Socialism that it is and diametrically opposed to everything that built this country and made it great.

When I was a little boy, my father told me I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up - provided I was willing to work hard enough to get it. I believed him. And I worked hard. In high school, while other people I knew slept through class, refused to study and screwed around, I studied my ass off so I could get into a good college. I graduated with a 4.0 and number 7 in my class of 202. I was accepted into one of the top 15 Liberal Arts Universities in the country where I again worked diligently to get the best education I could. After graduating from Washington & Lee, I attended one of the Top 5 graduate schools in the country for Mass Communication where I earned my Masters degree. That hard work and education made it possible for me to attend a second graduate program at one of the country's elite schools for creative writing. I spent another 2 years earning that degree.

Following graduation, I got a job at a 13-person advertising agency and started at the bottom like everyone else. I was a junior copywriter at a small agency with not a lot of clients. Within three years, I worked my way up to Senior Copywriter. At seven years, I became a Creative Director and this year, after 17 years in the business and tenures at five agencies, I earned the privilege of being named Executive Creative Director. I didn't get there working 40 hours a week. I didn't get there with handouts or excuses. I didn't get there by relying on the government. I got there by doing whatever it took to succeed. I got there by working nights and weekends and when necessary, 70-hour weeks. I got there by saying "yes, I will" when others said, "Sorry, I'm busy." I got there by remembering what my father taught me when I was 8-years-old - "Michael, you can achieve anything you want to if you're willing to pay the price for it."

I have, and will continue, to pay that price because I believe in earning my way. Pulling my own weight. And tempering ambition with the work required to achieve it. Now Barack Obama wants to take a disproportionate share of what I, and others like me, have worked 20, 30, 40 years to earn so in his infinite wisdom and that of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, they can redistribute it to those who make less, all in the name of fairness. If anyone can explain to me how that is in any way fair, I invite you to try and explain it to me.

Are there people who need help and government assistance? Of course there are. But when that assistance becomes systemic and comprehensive, and those people become wards of the state cradle to grave, that is a psychological and financial burden that no thriving country in history has been able to sustain.

My friends, we are in a battle for the soul of America. And no matter what happens on Tuesday, we are losing. But that doesn't mean we are giving up.

As evidenced by the title of this blog, this is my last political rambling. But it's in no way my last political post. On Monday, I am launching a new blog called "One Voice To The Right" that will be exclusively political. I'm describing it as "Conservative Political Observations in Defense of God and Country" and that's exactly what it will be. In searching for inspiration for my new blog, I came across a quote from Thomas Jefferson and it gave me all the resolve I needed. Jefferson wrote, "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

I've never been accused of being quiet. And I'm not about to start now.

I invite any of you who follow what I write to join me at http://www.onevoicetotheright.blogspot.com/ on Monday and moving forward. For those who prefer the non-political, I will continue to post blogs here at "Thoughtful Ramblings" and will return to lighter topics, fun observations and yes, a bit of sarcasm starting next week.

Thank you for your support of my writing and my blogs. I hope to see all of you on the other side.