A RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT WITHOUT HONOR

Many Republican and Democratic politicians count on the electorate to forget their half-truths and broken promises soon after each election. Once elected, there’s no good way to hold them accountable and at the start of the next election cycle the spin machine is simply re-started. We’re reminded of the famous line from the film Red October, in which National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt (played by Richard Jordan) says, “I’m a politician which means I’m a cheat and a liar, and when I’m not kissing babies I’m stealing their lollipops…” Yes, yes, we know, there are in fact some politicians who genuinely mean what they say. The collective record in recent decades, however, is a poor one of failed leadership, broken promises, missed opportunities and poor governance. This blog post, however, is about the sleazy nature of the 2012 Presidential campaign, not about Obama policies or the record of Congress.

Why are we writing about this now, after the 2012 Presidential election? We’re writing now because it is crystal clear that millions of voters were deceived and misled by the Obama Democratic Party campaign. In this election’s aftermath, the results are already being spun into propaganda that the 2012 Obama victory defines some type of new Democratic Party coalition that will propel Democrats to victory in future elections. These Democratic Party pundits would have you believe that large majorities of Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, youth, union members and single women are going to mindlessly and thoughtlessly go into the voting booths of the future and push the Democratic button because they did so in this election. To which we say: RUBBISH. Let’s think for a minute what this latest Democratic propaganda really says. It is saying that the votes of Latinos, African-Americans, youth and single women will now be taken for granted. That would not be unusual for the Democratic Party because it already takes the votes of union members and entire Democratic-leaning states like California, New York and New Jersey for granted. Why bother planning to protect New York Harbor or San Francisco Bay from flooding when the schmucks are going to vote for you anyway?

The simple truth is that Obama was re-elected for three reasons. First, there remains a hangover from the George W. Bush years. All Americans remember the tremendous human and financial cost of the Iraq war and Mr. Bush’s policy of threat pre-emption at any cost. The country is tired of foreign wars, and Romney’s somewhat strident campaign rhetoric undoubtably cost him votes.

Secondly, majorities of Latinos, African-Americans, young voters and single women voted for Obama at least in part because they were deliberately deceived by the Democratic Party and Obama campaign. This is what can happen when you have a sitting President flying around the country on Air Force One for 18 months in campaign/fundraising mode rather than devoting his time and energy to the job for which he was hired. The lesson of the 2012 Presidential election is that if you tell enough people what they want to hear, mix in vague phrases like hope and change, forward, and we’re all in this together, deceive millions more, spend 80% of the campaign’s duration slandering your opponent and appeasing certain voter blocs, you can win. That is all the 2012 Presidential campaign means.

Third, the Obama campaign mounted a major voter registration effort and had an effective grassroots get out the vote campaign. Is it honorable to deceive, mislead, slander and lie for one’s personal gain? Of course not. Whether such conduct is seen in our personal lives, business affairs or political campaigns, it is universally recognized as dishonorable. Mr. Obama won re-election, but without honor. Honor, duty and country will always matter in America. This may be one of the reasons why 500 former Generals and Admirals spent their own funds to endorse Romney in a full-page ad the day before the election.