Politics is not a business, although many of our senators and representatives treat it that way. It is not a business so what I am about to say does not comletely apply to starting or growing a business.
The center is where things actually get done in politics – and that is right where President Obama is right now. The Republicans hate him and his own party doesn’t even agree with him anymore. Because we have a two party system and you can’t be off in some third party world with insane ideas not pertinent to either party, the fact that both parties disagree with Obama means he is dead center of the aisle right now. And my vote is that it is good for him to be there. Whether you agree with what is being done in Washington or now, you cannot deny that Obama is being effective at getting the two sides to “compromise” (yes Republicans, I said the dirty word).
I’m definitely not saying that all of the legislation that has come through I agree with or that I think it is all great for the country, but Obama has been a driving force to at least get the ball rolling on a lot of overdue issues that desperately needed to be attended to. So many politicians are so affraid to do anything that might hurt their image or taint their appearance to the public for their next election. I give Obama full credit for taking the big issues head on and not worrying about re-election. He is worrying about stimulating the economy, giving tax cuts and providing necessary health care even though these issues are largely unpopular.
Washington has become more and more polorized over the years because the loudest and craziest politicians get the elected to government. No one remembers the name of the quiet middle of the road politician because the majority of our country who is quiet and middle of the road that would vote for him/her doesn’t care enough to go out and vote. Only those most polorized members of the party go out and vote, so they vote for hte most polorized candidate on their extreme views. I am not going to turn this post into a “Go Out and Vote” post, but seriously – If you are sane and care even a little, GO OUT AND VOTE.
So because we have such an extremem split between the two parties in Congress, I am glad that we have a President that is sitting in the middle of them both trying to get the politicians sitting on either side of the him to make concessions and agree for the betterment of our country, not themselves. I think Obama truely cares about the country, where it is going and how to get there. I do NOT feel that Congress cares as much as he does. I am very interested to see how the end of the year plays out with a lot of big votes coming up. I wonder if they will get them in and what type of concessions Obama will encourage each side to make to help get legislation in place to help Americans as a whole.
What do you think about Obama’s stance and trying to work and compromise with Congress? Do you feel a President should say with his/her party and push the party’s agenda or do you think it is better to get input from both Democrats and Republicans on issues and legislation? How do you think this should work? And do you think our Congress is becoming more polarized with each election?