It's time for a reality check ...

This election there’s a real choice

Every four years politicians say the Presidential election is a “critical turning point for our country” and the “stakes have never been greater.”

For once, it’s true. 

Unlike some past elections, where the candidates were virtually indistinguishable from the other except for a handful of issues and their party affiliation, this time there’s a real difference. 

For now, forget the nuances, the personal attacks, the fabricated outrage, and pouncing on every gaffe made by either side.  That’s all theater.  The media loves it while the public has mostly tuned it all out.  For all the negative ads and the hundreds of millions spent so far to air these, the race remains exceptionally close.

The core issues separating Obama and Romney, while profound, are not sexy.  They are not easily understood in 10-second sound bites.  Plus, most of the media are already unabashedly in the tank for the Democrats so they are not about to go deep on something likely to trouble possible Obama voters.  We see puff interviews with Barry and Michelle instead.

Forget all that.  Let’s be really honest here.  By all objective metrics Obama’s been a failure. 

If he were a CEO hired to turn around a company, he’d be fired by now. 

He continues to blame others for his failures.  It’s George Bush’s fault.  It’s the Republican House’s fault.  It’s the fault of the rich.  It’s the fault of whatever and whomever.

He never sucks it up and says that maybe, just maybe, he’s at least partially to blame. 

Of course, he’s not solely to blame for all our woes.  But the economy is still in the crapper.  Unemployment remains above 8% nationally.  The true unemployment rate – including those looking for work, the underemployed, and those who’ve given up – is estimated to be as high as 15%.  Spending is out of control.  The deficit is soaring with virtually nothing to show for it.  We now own a big chunk of GM and Chrysler we’ll probably never break even on.  We’ve dropped billions on failed “green” initiatives.  And we have promised everything to everyone – including “free” healthcare – we have no way of paying for. 

The only folks really happy with the current administration are the media, unions, government employees, plus freeloaders who expect something for nothing.  And class warriors are positively thrilled there’s someone there who also thinks we should eat the rich.   

This is not a record to run on.  Nor is this a constituency to be proud of. 

So his campaign theme is “Forward.”  Presumably more of the same.  Or as it was reported, he’s asking for a second chance because he’s learned a lot in his first term. 

What’s his plan for the future?  Higher taxes on the rich.  More government growth.  Cutting defense to provide more money for social programs.  Expansion of entitlements.  Cutting over $700 billion from Medicare to help finance ObamaCare.  Reduced enforcement of immigration laws.  Investing more in green energy and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.  Investing more in “infrastructure” to put American construction workers back to work.    

Clearly Obama wants to be loved.  By everyone. 

That’s a big problem.  Because he thinks the way to be loved is to buy that affection. 

Unfortunately we don’t have enough money – or enough people working and paying taxes – to afford to be so generous anymore.   

Romney doesn’t care about being loved.  He has a job to do – something he’s done many times in his career with great success – and being loved isn’t necessarily part of it.   

As a very successful businessman, he recognizes that the process of returning to basics, scaling back expectations, and reducing fat and waste can be painful, but at times essential for survival.   He’s playing a long game, where he hopes the ultimate results of his plans prove to be well worth the short-term pain.

Don’t be misled.  In the condition we’re in, there will inevitably be pain with either Obama or Romney. The only question is when do you deal with it and how much worse it will be the longer you delay. Obama is happy to let it ride until later. Maybe our problems will fix themselves.   

Romney wants to fix things now.  So the pain may be intense in short term, but lessen over time.  

His smaller government means fewer government workers through layoffs and attrition, maybe a consolidation of some agencies or the outright elimination of others, so fewer government services and more disgruntled government employees.  Expect a cap or possibly a freeze on government workers’ wages and benefits as well.  You can also expect a strike or two by public sector unions, and in return a move to decertify some of these.  Or if things escalate, to enact what Wisconsin did and make union dues voluntary.       

Cutting government spending means less money for pork projects and favored contractors, which will not endear him to Congress, K Street, or anybody else getting fat off government largesse.  It also means less Federal money to “invest” in R&D and grants to universities and think tanks.  Less for corporate welfare, too, because to balance the budget he’s going to have to slice into subsidies and special tax treatments a lot of big businesses and agribusinesses now enjoy and Congress protects.      

Reducing entitlements – probably through slowing benefit growth, tightening standards to qualify, and possibly by means-testing – will be very unpopular.  Raising the retirement age is one thing, but telling someone they have too much money to get Social Security or Medicare benefits, or that they don’t qualify for food stamps anymore, is quite another. 

Eliminating ObamaCare will affect the big drug companies, the AARP, hospitals, the AMA, the unions, the insurance industry and a host of others that sold their souls behind the scenes to get this passed.  There were a lot of hidden items and preferences tucked away in that bill that may go away; so years of planning and prep to reap the rewards will have to be revisited.     

Enforcing immigration laws will earn him enemies among immigrants as well as U.S companies that prosper on their low-cost – albeit illegal – labor.   The Catholic Church will excoriate him, the media will crucify him, and immigrant-rights groups will be in the streets nonstop.  Meanwhile, companies that now employ illegals will have to start paying realistic wages, so they’ll be pissed, too.     

Finally, approving more domestic drilling, the Keystone Pipeline, and pushing back on the EPA will give environmentalists apoplexy.  Especially when subsidies for solar, hybrids, electric cars and other green hobby horses are cut at the same time. 

Clearly, Romney’s not going to worry about being loved.  If he does all this, he’ll be lucky to survive one term in office. 

But maybe he is what we need.  Someone willing to put on the big-boy pants and tell us that we need to man-up and face reality: we’re out of money and we can’t keep going like this.  Things are going to have to change dramatically to get out of this mess.  And it’s going to hurt.   

This time there really is a choice. 

More hope and change.  Or a track record of proven business experience and success.

You can either pretend the pain will magically go away.  Or you can deal with the pain now before it worsens.   

Your call.