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Health & Fitness

A View from Left Field- A Look at Our Presidential Choices

A sneak peek at the presidential landscape

 

Napoleon had his Waterloo, Mitt Romney had his American Paper Company, Rich Santorum has his prayers for progress, New Gingrich his “sexcapedes”, Ron Paul his economized version of government and President Obama a record to be re-elected on.  Let’s take a look.

Napoleon’s attempt to become Emperor of Europe backfired.  Instead of forging ironclad control over the continent, he tripped up at Waterloo and spent the waning years of his life, imprisoned by the British on the island of St. Helena.  Too bad Hitler and Stalin didn’t get trapped in similar pages of history.

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Romney’s campaign mantra reads, “I ran Bain Capitol and know how to create jobs.”  Care to dig a little deeper?  Romney sought to build a paper empire by having Bain acquire American Pad and Paper (Ampad), the lined yellow pad company, for $5 million down and $35 million in bank debt, a highly leveraged proposition. 

In order to become an all around paper supplier to national chain stores, Ampad purchased SCM, a file folder company.  Their first order of business was to fire all SCM’s employees.  However, they were welcome to re-apply for their jobs.  Many were retained, but the union was broken and the SCM employees that continued went back to work at a greatly reduced pay scale.  Ultimately, SCM moved its folder business out of Marion, Indiana to another state, creating havoc in the lives of many.

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Next, Bain went back to the bank and borrowed another $200 million to purchase an envelope company.  However $70 million of that loan went to Bain and its investors.  In the middle 1990s Bain went public and used the proceeds in part to pay off a chunk of debt.  In 1997 Ampad bought Shade Allied, a continuous form computer paper company.  After Asian competitors came in and undercut the market, Ampad declared bankruptcy in 2000.  Stockholders were wiped clean and lenders got a fraction of what they were owed.  Moral of the story: don’t over-leverage your business because more often than not, you’ll get bit on your proverbial back-side.  You might want to check out Mitt Romney’s standing with former Ampad workers, before you cast your vote for him.  Job creator indeed!  Mitt worked his magic to turn something into nothing

Then there’s Rick Santorum, God’s last bastion of “goodness” on earth.  If we were electing a pastor, priest, rabbi, imam or holy man of any denomination, Rick deserves to be our popular choice.  He’s co-opted God’s countenance and wears it visibly on his sleeve; mainly as a ploy to capture evangelical support.  Unfortunately, there’s a conflict of interests here; we are electing a president, not a future saint.

What Americans really want to hear from Santorum are his plans for fixing the economy, creating fair trade practices, shrinking the national debt, keeping America safe from terrorism, fortifying our nation’s infrastructure and continuing Social Security and Medicare for the long haul.   And that’s just for openers!

In short, Rick our country needs more fixing and we are searching for an effective political leader who addresses those concerns.  We don’t want to replay ad nauseam same sex marriages, Rowe V. Wade, contraception, food stamps, gays in the military or separation of church and state.   We have bigger fish to fry and need a leader who can roll up his sleeves, join the 21st Century and deal with them.  You want to be president.  If it becomes mission accomplished, we hope God inspires you to take care of business for all the American people.  That’s what a president does, and that’s what we’re asking from you.

Newt Gingrich should be selling his life story to Hollywood instead of the American people.  It would make a sensational soap opera or “novella.”  As Speaker of the House he led the charge to impeach President Clinton while secretly carrying on a tryst of his own.  While his first wife lay in a hospital incapacitated with cancer, he gave her the “good” news, “I’m leaving you for my secretary.”   A similar fate awaited wife number two and now he’s onto number three.  Are these the “exemplary” qualities we want from our leader in the White House?  Instead of a family man, we’ll have a traveling man; moving far a field from family values.  Oh, and that $2.50 gallon of gas Newt's currently “hawking” on the campaign trail; look for that to evaporate as swiftly as his former marriages.

Few words  can be said for Ron Paul.  His viability as a presidential candidate shrinks faster than his desire to minimize the size of government.

Now let’s look what the current man in the White House has done.   President Obama stands tall, particularly in the realm of foreign policy.  He nailed Osama bin Laden and has other Al Qaeda terrorists on the run.  The unnecessary war in Iraq is done.  Afghanistan is winding down and thanks to American assistance Libya is a free nation. He’s focused on the Syrian and Iranian situation; and peppered throughout the Middle East are joyful citizens stepping out from under the yoke of oppression.  American effort under Obama leadership insured this “fait accompli. “

At home he devised a plan to save America’s auto industry and salvaged many thousand jobs in the process.  While not the best legislation possible, the president fashioned a responsible healthcare plan against the combative will of Republicans in Congress.  Many uninsured citizens will benefit from this legislation.  The job situation is improving and the stock market is trading at some of the highest levels in recorded memory.  He’s on the move to bring back manufacturing jobs with tax incentives for businesses that return to American soil.  All this and more, was completed in a little over three years, and achieved despite of an obstructionist Republican opposition.

Thus far, response to all the Republican candidates has been tepid at best.  Alternatively, they might seek a brokered convention.  In that way the GOP will comfortably satisfy their base and select the most reactionary candidate possible to represent them next November.

Republicans rail that they want their country back; Democrats want to move us ahead.  You make the choice.

 

 

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