Now What?

Every four years America elects a president, and while voting only happens on one day, the campaign begins in earnest the day the president-elect becomes the president.  Then, a year a half before the election, things get really intense. 

We're now only about a month away from the New Hampshire primary, schedule for January 10th, which is of course only 10 months before the general election...because, you know, the politicians don't have anything more important to do than campaign.  On January 10th, the good voters on New Hampshire will give one of the goons vying to displace President Obama a boost by selecting him or her as the candidate who has said the most nonsensical things during the campaign.  It will undoubtedly be a tough choice, even without Herman Cain. 

This is politics in America, two years of governance - though I hesitate to use that term - and two years of politicking...is it any wonder that the government does nothing? What if I only showed up to work three days a week...sounds nice actually.

But if our politicians are going to spend the next 11 months trying to get elected or reelected then we should at least ask them why?  What are we going to have to show for it if we pick candidate X in November?  What's next? 

Sadly, there doesn't seem to be an answer to this question from either side.  Democrats want to keep us on the same unsustainable path we are on, and Republican are - almost literally, almost - living on another planet or in some kind of pseudo-dream world.  America's officials are long-winded and obstinate, but they're short on ideas, and it's a scary prospect for our nation's future.

As I ponder the direction of our country, and think about what might be done to fix it, I am struck by how much work there is to do and how little of it is being done by those in office.  I'm terrified by one group of people who don't have the foresight to make necessary changes now and another group who desperately wants America to be perpetually stuck in the 1980's. 

America needs leaders who are willing to lead, who can confront reality, and who can make informed decisions about what needs to be done to make our nation better.  We need individual with ideas other than the maintenance of a shaky status quo or the reversion to policies that have proven themselves wanting.  I don't know where those people will come from - certainly the President has moments where he is among them - but we need to find them fast because America cannot afford to wait much longer.