Much Ado About Nothing

     The campaign that seemed to last forever finally ended. 
Hundreds of millions were spent.  A few trillion annoying phone
calls were made.  What do we have to show for it?  Nothing,
absolutely nothing.

     We could have extended the terms of all the incumbents,
except for any who died, without any noticeable difference.  The
election to end all elections didn't end anything, except the
campaign.  How long before the talking heads start telling us
2014 will be the most crucial election the country ever faced?

     Considering the candidates on the ballot, it was long
apparent that the election wouldn't change the direction or even
the momentum of the country, even if all of the losers had won. 
The few candidates who stood up for reduced spending and
smaller government could have caucused in a phone booth, if
there still is a phone booth out there to be found.

     Mitt Romney didn't offer a real alternative.  He did his
best to avoid taking a position on anything.  He was for jobs,
reduced spending, and more freedom for businesses.  What was
he going to do to further any of those goals?  Other than
wanting to use coal for fuel, the specifics were few and far
between.

     I listened to Romney and Ryan's acceptance speeches at
the convention.  That coal thing was the only thing close to real
substance that either offered.  The general theme was "We are
good.  Elect us and we will do great things."  This was nothing
more than the Republican version of "hope and change."

     There were two defining events in the Romney ride to
failure.  A month or so before the election he volunteered that he
liked many of the parts of Obama Care and would keep them. 
Then he realized he had only shot himself in one foot.  So he
reloaded and fired off that he was proud to be the grandfather of
Obama Care.  It is hard to campaign after blowing off both feet.

     My reaction to this was that Romney might as well have
conceded the election and threw his support to Obama.  The
only thing Romney had going for him was that he wasn't
Obama.  Then he rips off his mask and announces "See, I really
am Barack Obama."

     The second failure involved Romney's now famous
remark that 47 percent of the voters were dependent on
government.  Perhaps he was a point or two off on the percent. 
Other than that he was spot on.

     He had finally gotten something right.  So what did he
do?  He ran from it as fast as a man could run after shooting off
both feet.  He got caught telling the truth and was embarrassed. 
Could anyone other than a politician be embarrassed by being
caught in a truth?

     We shouldn't pick presidents based on how exciting they
are.  The reality is that many, if not most, voters do.  On the
excitement index Romney ranks below cold oat meal.  I don't
see this as a fault.   The reality is that it is a major handicap for
a politician.

     Romney's major defect was that he was only obsessed
with being president.  If he had any concern at all about the fate
of the county, it was buried deep in second place behind his lust
for the presidency.

     There is no reason to mourn Romney's loss to one of the
most destructive president's in the history of the nation.  Romney
would have done little, if any better.  The results might have
turned out worse.

     There is a silver lining.  Voters still blame Bush for
Obama's failures.  If Obama had acted responsibly the economy
would have recovered by now, as it did during Reagan's first
term.

     The next four years were destined by Obama to be
economic stagnation punctuated by recession.  If Romney had
won he would get the blame for Obama's failures.  Perhaps after
another four years a few more voters will figure out that the
stagnant economy really is of Obama's doing.

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Copyright 2012
Albert D. McCallum
18440 29-1/2 Mile Road
Springport, Michigan 49284