POST ELECTION THOUGHTS

As the election results sink in, I have some additional thoughts:

1.  During the campaign, polls repeatedly gave Mr. Obama an edge over Mr. Romney for “likeability.”  It’s true that Mr. Obama has a more friendly, outgoing, charming personality, but does that make him a better President?  Probably not, but in any walk of life, people who are “likeable” generally have an advantage over those who are not.  I compare the election to a situation where I might need a surgeon to perform a complicated and serious operation on me.  Dr. A is nice, charming, has a great bedside manner but mediocre surgical skills.  Dr. B is a superior surgeon but is a real SOB.  I would choose the SOB every time and then, if I want, I can celebrate my recovery by having drinks with the nice doctor.  In my mind, the electorate chose the nice doctor.

2.  Now that Mr. Obama has won, it’s time for the Administration to end the obfuscation and tell the American public the truth about the Libya fiasco.  We deserve it.

3.  It’s time for both the Dems and GOP to end their partisanship and work together for the good of the country.  We have a “fiscal cliff” looming on January 1, and several other serious issues to address.

4.  A word to Obama supporters in your jubilation over his re-election.  Be careful what you wish for.  He won, but now he has the sole responsibility to fix the economy, a task which he was not able to accomplish in his first term.  The economy was and is the most serious issue, and, unlike his opponent, there is nothing in his background that indicates he has the ability to fix it.  Dems will not be able to blame failure on George Bush in 2016.

Predictions

1.  The Congress and the President will work together to fashion some sort of compromise to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” but only because they have to.  The compromise will, however, result in fewer spending cuts than needed.  In addition, as I explained in one of my previous blogs, most of us, including many in the so-called middle class, will somehow end up paying more taxes.   We always do.

2.  I doubt that the American public will ever learn the whole truth about Libya, especially the part about who ordered the cover-up.  To me, the cover-up was as bad as the incident, itself, if not worse.

3.  I am pessimistic about Mr. Obama’s ability to improve the economy substantially.  I see unemployment remaining unacceptably high and the debt growing at a similar rate.  I see businesses remaining reluctant to make capital investments, spend money and hire workers. This is based on his political philosophy and his track record.  I foresee a real chance of another recession.