Finally!!! It has only taken how many months of campaigning,
two conventions, and countless smear and misleading ads on t.v. for the
candidates to finally show their political stance, and where they intend to go
with this great country of ours. Now, if we could just keep this truth
thing (as tricky as it is) going throughout the rest of the campaign, and the
next presidential term, I think we may just have a shot at picking ourselves up
from the dirt, brushing off the dust, and flying a finger at those who
believed, and hoped, we would fail.
The two videos
that came out this week were very telling. No matter how old they are, no
matter who posted them - it is a clear view of the two candidates - and what a
view it is! These candidates are so divergent in their beliefs that it
seems that the decision to choose one or the other may be an easy one.
Those who believe in big government, belong to Team Obama. If you
believe government should be in the background of life - Team Romney is for
you. Now, of course, nothing can be that easy, and I am not suggesting
that anyone vote based strictly on this criteria.
In a week that
followed one of the worst acts of terrorism - yes, I said it, because that is
what it was - the story that seemed to pervade the airwaves was a video taken
on a cell phone of Mitt Romney speaking to some people he wanted money from
regarding where he thinks the election is going. Now, this is not
unusual, and anyone in business knows, if you want investors, you must tell
them where their money is going, what it will be used for, and why they should
invest in you in the first place. They also want your take on how
successful your business plan will likely be (in this case, being elected
president), and where the potential problems and pitfalls may exist.
For a businessman,
or candidate alike, the importance of giving some of the pitfalls is essential
in ensuring your credibility. No one wants the snake oil salesman who proclaims
there are no side effects to donating money to the campaign, and that the
election is in the proverbial "bag." So, I wonder, is it really
all that surprising that Romney would lay his cards out to potential big dollar
donors, and give them the unedited pictorial of the remainder of the campaign?
I think the bigger
surprise is that, finally, we have heard a candidate talk about a group of
people realistically and without spin. I mean, come on, didn't we already
know that the people who believe the government should be there for them, and
help them because they are in need, are not likely to vote for a guy who wants
to decrease the size of government by limiting entitlements? Mitt Romney
said there are about 47% of the people who will probably not vote for him.
Whether or not that number is correct, who cares? The truth is that
there are a certain percentage of people he will not reach with his message, no
matter how hard he tries.
If you have seen
the full video, or at least the longest one I could find, Romney's remarks are
in response to a question regarding how he plans to reach the people who are
dependent on the government. As I stated, his percent may be off (he was
going off the cuff in answering the question), but his message was pretty
sound. His best shot at being elected is to talk to the people that do
pay taxes, and that do not take entitlements, that may be sitting on the fence
regarding whom to vote for and target them. His message that government
should remain small, and not provide everything for everyone, may resonate with
the people in swing states who, like me, have seen members of our family who
are aided by certain entitlements, and other members who leach off the
government and blame anyone and everyone for the condition of their lives –
except themselves, of course. Not sure this is a new message from Romney.
Just looks more clandestine since it was taken secretly on a cell phone,
and leaked (gasp) to the media.
For Obama, if you
have been lucky enough to see the video, or even hear about it, it was taken
while he was a State Senator speaking at Loyola University. In his
closing remarks, he states that he believes that government resources should be
pooled and redistributed in a way to give everyone a fair shot. Now, that
seems ambiguous to me, as there are no real specifics of what resources should
be pooled and who they are redistributed to; nor is it clear what he means by
everybody getting a "shot." What I do take from this, however,
is that if you believe that government should force a level of success and take
care of you, giving you an equal "shot" in life no matter the fiscal
cost, then re-elect President Obama and see how long he can sustain that hope.
In our
"gotcha" society, it seems that these videos get more play and
discussion simply because they are being presented as videos "they didn't
want you to see," or a "long lost - buried in the closet"
expose' of each candidate. I think both candidates have stated the topics
found in their respective videos, either in word or action, during this
administration and/or campaign. There seems to be very little gotcha, and
more unrestrained information without any spin. Are they eloquent? No.
Do the candidates wish they could state it better? Maybe, at least
in Romney's case (not much has been revealed regarding how the President feels
about his video). It is what it is, an unguarded glimpse of what each
candidate believes and stands for in a no-nonsense recitation: Romney is
for smaller government and less entitlements; Obama is for larger government
and redistribution.
Shocking
revelations? No. I, for one, found it a refreshing change.
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