A Republican Obama

Eight years ago, the U.S. economy was hemorrhaging.  The housing bubble had burst; millions of jobs were disappearing; the banking system neared collapse; certain Wall Streeters had defrauded and robbed Americans of trillions of dollars, and none of the perpetrators was going to prison.  The public was and still is really, really pissed.

In desperation, voters in 2008 sent to The White House Barrack Obama, a young, charismatic junior senator who had vowed to "change Washington" and unite Congress.  Despite staffing his cabinet with some well-qualified people, the new Democratic President was immediately overwhelmed.  The GOP swore to oppose Mr. Obama at every turn and make him a one-term President.

Today, another junior senator is vying for the job, and Republican voters are once again drawn to him.  But as we saw with Obama, experience counts -- more specifically, experience making hard decisions and answering for them.  That experience arises from owning, running and/or managing business(es), or from senior government experience and accountability.

The 2016 GOP candidates (as of this writing) who have such experience are John Kasich and Donald Trump.

No President can "change Washington" in ways that candidates promise.  Only voters can do that.  It starts with replacing both the President, and members of Congress.  And there is only one place to do that: in the voting booth.

So if you want another Obama, elect the right-wing version: elect Ted Cruz.

You Made It! Now What?

Congratulations, Republicans, on winning control of the Senate.  I hope that you comport yourselves admirably and make us all proud.  However, I'm not optimistic.

After all, you are the same folks who swore to obstruct the Obama administration at every opportunity.  Long before the 2012 elections, you vowed to make him a one-term President.  When that failed, you shut down the government for two weeks just before the holidays.  When that failed to achieve your objectives, you launched a fusillade of bile and hatred that was downright shameful.

Now, at last, you control both houses of Congress.  Next objective: The White House.  Then all will be well, right?

Be careful what you wish for.

If you gleaned nothing else from the recent mid-terms, it is this: We have had it with the political brinksmanship that both you and the Democrats have played.  Enough, already, with the pouting, name-calling and finger-pointing.  This is not 3rd-grade recess.  You're supposed to be the grown-ups.

You want to dismantle Obamacare?  Go for it.  But offer a realistic alternative for the millions who need it.

You want justice for Benghazi?  Go for it.  Bring your case to the courts and let a jury decide.

You want the Keystone XL pipeline?  Go for it.  But first, pass a bill guaranteeing that if the pipeline despoils our environment, you go to jail.  How's that for transparency?

You want to ensure that Hillary doesn't win in 2016?

Don't f*** up.

May Elephants Never Forget

After President Obama won reelection, some fool posted a photo of the American flag hanging upside down. That is not what he thinks it is. It is a Naval sign of distress.

I've held off commenting on Mr. Obama's reelection and -- more to the point -- why the GOP got shellacked until I could calm down.

As the misnamed "fiscal cliff" looms, here's what I think.

The GOP lost for the same reason that Ronald Reagan abandoned the Democratic Party in 1962: the party lost its soul. Back then, Reagan said he didn't leave the Democratic Party; the party left him.

And clearly, the GOP left a bunch of others, too, despite the billions spent by corporate and industrial PACs to malign the incumbent as a communist, socialist and mongrel -- among other sins.

Make no mistake: Barack Obama won four years ago on his personal appeal to the masses, especially the underclass, and not on his credentials.

He won this time because you guys came across as extreme right-wing nutjobs. You let Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Fox News define you.

You publicly declared that your Number One objective the past for years was to make Mr. Obama a one-term president. Really? Since when is your job to scuttle the presidency?

That alone disqualified you. You lost this election a long, long time ago. Worse, you didn't realize it 'til the Wednesday after the election. Your state of shock was laughable.

What you should have done the past four years was everything you could do to help this thinly-qualified president by leading us out of the financial crisis that he inherited. Remember the balance of power thing? The U.S. was in crisis, and you idiots abdicated your responsibilities to help. All you did was hinder. You assigned blame (wrongly) and pointed fingers like a bunch of 4-year-olds.

I've talked with enough Republicans and Democrats in Washington over the years to know that there are some fine people who have sacrificed a lot and work hard to do the people's work.

It is time to prove your worth.

Address this fiscal cliff prudently and quickly. We don't want brinksmanship; we want wise leadership.

Follow Harry Truman's example: stand up straight, look us in the eye and tell us the truth.

Unlike you, we can handle it.