A BATTLE FOR POWER BEGINS-----VOTE!!!!

Here we go again---election time, USA style, is upon us. Are you enjoying all the very biased political ads? The insulting TV commercials? The recorded nuisance phone calls by various and assorted politicians or survey takers? It's all part of the game called politics, but this year it's serious business, even though it's just the mid-term election. The balance of power is hanging in the balance, as many seats in both the Senate and the House are up for grabs Obama and administration are running scared, as they face heavy criticism about the state of the economy, worsening unemployment, and the still very dubious health care bill. All predictions point to the Republicans winning landslide victories in the upcoming races---but don't count on it yet. President Obama is not about to fold his cards, and is once again on the campaign trail trying to make his now very familiar case that the country's woes are all the Republicans' fault, and that given more time, he and his heavily slanted congress will fix what's broken. Perhaps, but Americans can be a fickle people, falling in love with a President for awhile, then becoming disenchanted and even bitter if they feel he is not the man they thought he would be. Many feel that while he may need more time, what he's shown so far is not to their liking---the change has been too much, and the hope has never materialized. Instead, we've been given a heavy dose of, if not socialism, then the next thing to it, with government being given more and more power as a fix for all that is wrong. The feeling in some quarters is that we can't afford to allow Obama and his extreme left wing medicine much more time. Things are moving too swiftly in the wrong direction, and perhaps now, as never before, the Republicans and even some Democrats feel it is urgent to swing the balance of power at least more to the middle before it's too late, and we are then stuck with legislation that will be harmful and too difficult to remove for years to come.

Many presidents, including President Clinton, when faced with a disapproving public, moved more compromisingly to the center of the political spectrum, but Obama is not a "centrist", and perhaps may never become one. He is a man who believes so ferociously in his convictions and his vision of America that he is willing to gamble even his political future and that of his party on them. He feels in his gut that he is doing the right thing for the general good, and appears to have no intentions of being swayed. Instead, in an effort to stave off the tsumani of predicted defeat within his ranks, he continues to rail against the right, even making false and unsupported statements, to convince voters to once again believe in him, most recently demonstrated by his remarks regarding the United States Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit lobbying organization for businesses in the U.S., accusing them of using "foreign monies" to finance ads against him. Upon investigation of this charge, there was absolutely no evidence of foreign money being used for campaign financing. It was a careless, unsupported criticism, made by a president who was looking for a way to disrepute his opponents. Yes, there are other politicians from both sides who have committed the same sin of baseless accusations; however, it seems the president should be above this kind of rhetoric. But, no matter, this is a man with a radical world view quite different from any previous president, and a steely determination to drive it home, including the abuse of power once in a while. Instead of moving more to the center, he digs in even more, and announces to us during a speech that the reason we are worried is that we are fearful, and that our judgement is therefore clouded. Is this not a sign of arrogance? Does he think he is smarter and wiser than all of us? Should he speak so condescendingly to our concerns? And is this the hallmark of a man who feels he knows best, in spite of philosophical differences to the contrary, and will continue to rule with a hard hand and unbending might---as he did with the passage of the health care bill, which was obviously a work of forced legislation, even among his own skeptical party members? Is it "my way, or the highway", that regardless of whether he and his party go down, he will pridefully feel he has succeeded, because his views were implemented, like them or not, and he will have changed the course of this country's destiny? The stakes are high, and there are, indeed, those from both parties who are fearful, not only about this country's future, but their own as well. But for now the Dems seem to be obediently marching lock step to their leader's rallying cry---"don't let them drive our car back into the ditch!"

The Republicans, on the other hand, have a lot to worry about as well. Unlike the Dems, they do not all bow to one master or one platform of ideas. They seem to have the opposite problem, in that they do not seem to have a cohesive message . The grand old party has become unwieldy, and without any clear leader. Their views range from moderate to conservative to extreme right wing and they can't seem to get their act together. In the meantime, the Tea Party Express does have one main message---"throw the bums out" seems to be it. They have no trouble making themselves clear--much less government control is their chief rallying cry, and they are not afraid to say so. Already they are threatening to become a third party by their sheer ever growing numbers. This does not bode well for the Republicans, but perhaps it's time for them to morph into a more effective choice of contrast against the ever left leaning Democrats. Though labeled "the party of no" by the Democrats, they have been rendered practically powerless by the onslaught of bills passed which give the government historic control. It has been laughable to hear them described as "obstructionists" by President Obama and those of his party. How can they obstruct such a majority of Democrats in the congress? They can push back, make noise, hold filibusters, but they cannot, at the end of the day, hold back the will of a one partisan machine. And perhaps, therein lies the seeds of discontent now making itself known in the country----the imbalance of power is making a lot of us uncomfortable.

The country has gone through many presidents and many pendulum swings of policies and ideologies, and we at heart kind of like it that way. So did our founding fathers, who designed our government in such a way to keep us balanced ----but have we lost our balance? At this point in time, the pendulum seems to have swung too far, too fast---and President Obama is right when he says we are afraid--- but we will be the judge of our reasoning. He and his party were elected to lead, but not to pull and push us over the edge of our concerns. Lockstep isn't our style. Neither is a one sided government for very long. But the votes are not in yet. Much can still happen, as each party girds for the battle about to ensue---split tickets, independent and minority voters, attack ads from both sides, complacency,world events, and yes, even a president who may yet undergo an epiphany and decide to change and begin to speak more inclusively, instead of dividing us into the "they's" and "we's". And the most important unknown? The true American mind. Polls are just polls, and don't always reflect the heart and soul of a nation.

We are a nation deeply polarized. But Americans have a way of sorting through things. We may be fickle, but we are true to our belief in ourselves and the fact that it is our country, and does not belong to any one party or one president. It is ours to mold and shape and become what we, in all our diversity, will create. That's what elections are all about----the coming together of the people to speak---many voices, but one clear mandate---we will decide for ourselves, and we will have the last say. Be sure to let your voice be heard--vote on November 2cnd!!!!