A Crisis Of Leadership

The biggest problem with the current economic crisis is that we have had a complete breakdown in leadership in this country. In a time when Americans expect to see our leaders work together to find solutions, we just see more political rhetoric that produces no results. This applies to both parties, the president and our current presidential nominees.

All of these individuals have failed to adequetely address and explain the problem in a way that the American people can understand it.  I have been very disapointed in all of these people and it makes me wonder what has happened to this country.  In WWII this nation came together to do some amazing things. People sacrificed, leaders led and we were able to mobilze this country like never before. We have a current crop of political leaders who care more about power and sound bites than the success of America.

There is a small part of me that almost wonders if letting the whole thing fall apart might not be what is in the best interest of this nation.  The financial cost may be staggering (personally I would lose as well) but this dramatic failue might be the only way to save this countries soul.  We need to fill this leadership vaccum and put this nation first over political parties again.

Fountain Of Truth Series

Come to Oak Leaf the next 5 weeks to learn more about religions of the world! The messages will also be available online. The link is on the blog under Oak Leaf links!

Vote For Jesus!

Today at Oak Leaf we learned about the paralyzed man whose friends brought him to see Jesus. This is a story about faith in action and is a model of how all Christians should be especially to those that we love, work with and care about. Many of us have good intentions but we fail to act or respond to the movement of Christ in our heart for others. I am guilty of this in my own life and I am going to make a more intentional effort to invite those that I come into contact with.

Over the past few months I have spent a lot of time commenting on this years presidential election and the implications it will have for our country. I am a proud conservative Republican and I believe Sen. McCain to be the best option for America among our available choices. One of the points of the sermon today was that Jesus is the last best hope for all people not the political process I engage in so frequently.

We get so caught up in the things of this world that we forget that JESUS IS THE HOPE for Mankind. Whatever happens in November I know that I cast my most important vote when I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. We are all imperfect people with no hope to get clean but through the forgiving grace provided by God through his son Jesus.

For those who are in pain, hurting and searching for greater purpose in this life I can tell you that the answer to those questions will not be found in a candidate or voting booth. Participate in the process because we owe it to our country to be a voice in how this nation moves forward but put you faith in Jesus not in men who can be fallible.

Find a church, Invite a friend to church if you already regularly attend one but Vote For Jesus this year to change yourself and maybe America in the process!

What I Learned From The Presidential Debate

After all of the back and forth through the week the first presidential debate of the season went off as planned at Ole Miss last night. The debate was to focus exclusively on foreign policy but as a result of the economic crisis the first thirty minutes covered the proposed bailout.

Obama continues to try and define keeping the Bush tax cuts as new tax breaks for the wealthy. His plan would provide refundable tax credits to people in the lower tier tax brackets who currently pay no federal tax. This plan in essence is paying people for their political support.

Democrats still fail to understand that “poor” do not employ the “poor”. The best way out of this crisis is to cut corporate tax rates and allow American companies to compete and expand. This means more jobs and more prosperity for all Americans.

Sen. McCain came across much more prepared on matters of national security. Obama looked frustrated and not ready to lead on day one. We cannot afford to have Obama in the White House with a resurgent Russia and Iran on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons.

Put Country First and vote for John McCain!

Who Is To Blame?

There is a poll out from CNN that indicates that Americans 2 to 1 place blame with Republicans on our current economic crisis. First of all both parties and the President have to step up and take responsibility for this mess. We also need to cast blame at some Americans who purchased homes that they could not afford.

People need to know however that the Democrats pushed the government and Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae to lend to people who could not meet traditional lending standards. Sen. John McCain proposed a bill that would have increased regulation on Freddie and Fannie and the Democrats killed it on a party line vote.

There is plenty of blame to go around but the notion that Republicans are more to blame goes against the facts of this story. As a community organizer Barrack Obama worked for ACORN a group pushing Freddie & Fannie to make the bad loans.

John McCain is the only choice Americans have to keep this country from sliding any closer to the Socialist agenda that is being outlined by Sen. Obama.

UPDATE: ACORN is also being investigated for voter fraud in Seminole County Florida for work in conjunction with the Obama campaign

Obama Has Lost His Shadow

Obama has been elevated to mythic proportions by the Democrats and the media elite in this country through this presidential election cycle in both the primaries and the general election. There was a feeling when he was drawing thousands of people during the primaries that the wave of Obama fed hysteria would sweep down ballot democrats into elective office. Unfortunately for the Democratic Party Obama like Peter Pan another mythical creature has lost shadow.

The Democratic Party was counting on his shadow of influence playing a major role in securing democratic elections all over this country. Enter Sarah Palin…….She has really shaken up the energy in this race and Obama’s ability to pull voters down ballot may now be in jeopardy. This is why there has been such an unprecedented attempt to discredit her and the massive wave on support that she has generated for the McCain ticket.

In spite of his rearing Obama is an elitist who at the end of the day has almost nothing in common with people in the middle class regardless of political party affiliation. Sarah Palin is America and represents “normal” Americans in a way that we have not seen by a top of the ticket candidate in a long time. She is what the Democrats have always claimed to be.

The bottom line is that the Democratic Party and Obama himself use the poor and middle class of this country to try and impose a socialist agenda that if understood most Americans would reject. Since the GOP convention and the introduction of Gov. Palin, Obama and his team have been frantically trying to re-brand his campaign and re-establish his political shadow. The problem is that Wendy is Sarah Palin and there will be shadow repair in this media driven fairy tale.

Note:

We have seen this play out in the State of Georgia. Obama’s campaign thought after the Georgia primaries that he might have a chance to win this state that has only voted Democrat for President twice since Carter’s election. Obama claimed he would run a 50 state campaign and win traditionally GOP states. Recently Obama shut down most of his Georgia staff and is fighting in more Democrat leaning states. The number of voters was higher in the democratic primary but in the end McCain is winning in Georgia by a wide margin. The shadow over Georgia has gone!

The Candidates and the Economy

This is a response I gave over at Michael’s blog today.  His question is what can the president really do to impact our economy? Here is my answer:

I agree with the premise of your post Michael but it might be more instructive to ask who would harm things even more.  I do believe in cyclical economic lows and highs.

Lenders, Congress, The President, and the American people all share responsibility in this current economic downturn.

Obama’s plan to tax personal income beginning at $250,000 would be devastating to small businesses.  Many small business claim business income on their personal income taxes.  These people are the backbone of our economy and employ people all over this country.

Raising the capital gains taxes on corporations makes no sense either.  These tax policies do not live in isolation with no consequences.  Corporations exist to bring returns for shareholders and they will offset an increased tax burden by cutting costs in another areas. These cuts usually mean layoffs for the very people Obama claims he is trying to help.

In this election it is more important what the next president will not do.  This economy cannot withstand the increased tax burden that Obama is proposing in his plan to redistribute America’s wealth.

Palin Is A Tough One!

Where Have All The Feminists Gone?

Susan Estrich a democratic political contributor (Who ran the Dukakis campaign) points out in the following article the double standard that Sarah Palin is being subjected to.  I find it amazing that the Democratic Party who has marketed itself as the party for progressive women is now out questioning her ability to serve and be a mother.

For all of their talk and rhetoric about being the political party for women the Dems have done everything possible to push women away this election cycle.  They chose Obama over Clinton in the primaries and then cast her aside by not even seriously considering Clinton for VP.  Now there is an active campaign to discredit Palin for being a working mother.

The hypocrisy of the Democratic Party is why people hate politics.  We finally have a strong, attractive, executive women rise to the pinnacle of American politics and because she is a Republican she is not worthy.

Here is the article from Estrich:

Sarah Palin and the Double Standard

Susan Estrich is the Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California. She was Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the first female president of the Harvard Law Review. She is a columnist for Creators Syndicate and has written for USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.

Estrich’s books include the just published “Soulless,” “The Case for Hillary Clinton,” “How to Get Into Law School,” “Sex & Power,” “Real Rape,” “Getting Away with Murder: How Politics Is Destroying the Criminal Justice System” and “Making the Case for Yourself: A Diet Book for Smart Women.”

She served as campaign manager for Michael Dukakis’ presidential bid, becoming the first woman to head a U.S. presidential campaign. Estrich appears regularly on the FOX News Channel, in addition to writing the “Blue Streak” column for FOXNews.com.