B&O Railroad

Week Beginning 10/27/08:

Many railers don't know that the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad was the first railroad in the country. It was the first to take the country on a rail ride and now, the country is facing a new B&O Express (Barack & Obama)that plans to railroad the American public so a woefully inexperienced and left-leaning world citizen with a paper-thin resume can reside in the White House.

My frustration is not with a political philosophy that differs from my own, but rather, the deception involved in trying to make a candidate's beliefs more acceptable to the average voter. In an attempt to throw a switch and re-route this political freight train-turned-Acela, I shall address several issues that have been presented as the Gospel according to St. Barack.

95% of Americans will get a tax cut. Huh? When 40% of the population doesn't pay income taxes, a check from the federal government is nothing but a transfer payment. It's the whole wealth-transfer discussion. Obama wants to tax those making too much (by his definition) to be able to send a check to others. It has nothing to do with tax reduction. Also, the repeal of current Bush tax rate reductions is a tax increase, not to mention increasing capital gains tax rates and increased social security taxes.

Sarah Palin is unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Double huh? Her resume is significantly deeper and more relevant than BO himself and he's applying for the job of the heartbeat of the Presidency! It's a joke to use this as a reason to vote for the Obama ticket. Examine Joe Biden! Can he make any more foot-in-the-mouth gaffes? Plus, he has 36 years of being wrong, and it's usually on foreign policy! Experience only counts when it puts you on the correct side of a decision.

Eight years of failed economic polices. Hello! American family net worth had grown by $20 TRILLION during the last 8 years prior to the economic calamity of the last two months. This exceptional growth was AFTER the dotcom bubble-burst and recession, 9/11, and funding an expensive war on terror! This is an economic failure? The financial mess that has dominated the markets is the result of social engineering that was mandated by Democrats in control (Frank and Dodd) of key oversight committees so that more "disadvantaged" people could obtain home loans. This pressure combined with selected institutional greed and corruption overextended the capacity of the system.

The worse economic environment since the Great Depression. Wrong again. 1987 was worse. It represented a larger % decrease in the Dow. Also, unemployment in 1980 was 11%, significantly higher than the current rate and the prime interest rate was 21%! Some analysts have opined that the market continues to be resistant to the Federal rescue plan due to fears over an Obama administration and the expectation of an increasing deficit and new taxes.

Past acquaintances don't matter. Isn't a big part of executive decision making involved with making judgements? Particularly when you have large political ambitions. The Big O's track record on this count has been dismal: Ayers, Wright, ACORN, Khalidi and Rezko to name a few. If he can allow himself to be associated with these questionable "colleagues", then deny his relationships, this has to call into question his judgement, voracity and character.

He's a genius! He can read a teleprompter extremely well, but so can an evening news person. When caught on his own, he seems very mortal, offering the usual amount of himming and hawing. He generally repeats the same talking points and mentions change, with very few real details. I'm sure he's bright, but genius, not!

Let me make this perfectly clear! This is a speech habit that means that the next thing out of his mouth is a boldface lie. It's like the person who claims "It's not about the money." In that case, it's always about the money.

He's even-keeled and doesn't seem to get rattled. This only applies when he knows the environment will be friendly. Whenever he's challanged, he's VERY uncomfortable. His eyes narrow and his body language changes and he gets VERY TESTY. He clearly doesn't like to be admonished or have his positions questioned. He generally pushes the interviewer by saying he wants to make his point. He'll say, "Now hold on a minute" and will continue with his talking points. Many said he came out of the Washington conclave during the bailout discussions with very little to say and appeared at a loss as to what to do.

All Aboard! Let's hope not!