According to Sarshik...

As the United States prepares to inaugurate Barack Obama for a second term in office, many Republicans are still struggling to understand Gov. Mitt Romney’s defeat.
Exit polls on Nov. 6, however, indicated that voters blamed former President George W. Bush for the country’s economic troubles, and most believe that Obama’s policies have helped the recovery.
Bush was such a poor president that conservatives no longer bother to defend the previous commander in chief, says New York attorney and political humorist Steven Sarshik.
“It has become conventional wisdom that Bush messed up so badly that pundits on both sides tend to gloss over the magnitude of his appalling legacy,” says Sarshik, author of the satirical novel, “The Apology,” (www.sarshik.com), a fantastical tale that begins on the day of Obama's second inauguration, when Bush gets himself into a jam in Europe.
“Conservatives won’t go anywhere near Bush’s eight years, except to tell liberals who blame him for the difficult recovery to stop living in the past. I mean … the guy wasn’t even invited to the Republican National Convention in Tampa,” Sarshik says. “The Democrats mentioned him more at their convention.”
Unfortunately, in political debate, reviewing Bush’s record has become a non-starter, “but that doesn’t mean his tenure didn’t happen,” Sarshik says.
He reviews some of the Bush policy flubs that directly contributed to Romney’s defeat:

• A party of extremists: In order to compete with this season’s Republican primary candidates and satisfy the hordes of Tea Party conservatives, “moderate Mitt” had to take a backseat in favor of pedal-to-the-metal, far-right Romney. The party took a dramatic shift to the far right as a result of Bush’s expensive, fiscally irresponsible policies. After the primaries, “flip-flopper” didn’t seem strong enough to describe Romney’s shifting stances; his proposed policies became “Etch-a-Sketch,” almost to the point of being Zen-like, Sarshik says. “Often, his answers to questions became exceedingly abstract, and I think the shifting discouraged independent and undecided voters.”
• A clear and simple foreign policy narrative: A recent Vanity Fair exposé shows that Bush was given ample warning of the attacks on American soil before Sept. 11, 2001. While the 43rd president followed up with what still seems to many a non-sequitur war in Iraq, Obama oversaw the end of that protracted campaign and killed the man responsible for 9-11. Romney’s foreign policy appeared to be a continuation of Bush’s costly approach.
• FEMA and the “heck of a job, Brownie” gaffe: “Frankenstorm” Sandy hit the Northeast days before the Nov. 6 election, which could have devastated Obama’s campaign had he handled it poorly. Instead, his cooperation with New Jersey Rep. Gov. Chris Christie was the perfect example of how to handle local and state-level emergencies. During debates, in an attempt to back up small-government rhetoric and explain away Bush’s poor handling of Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, Romney said the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be dismantled in favor of state control, and “even better,” be privatized.

Sandy....end of october hurricane..

Four more years...? THE AMERICAN ELECTION

..almost ready to get the results, hopefully four more years in four more days, things should settle down shortly.
It is my hope that Mr. Obama wins this election. My problem with Mr. Romney and the Republicans?

-They want to cancel the hard fought for health insurance arrangement and throw you back at the mercy of the insurance companies.

-They want to institute a new system for those under 55 to give you vouchers of some sort when you do retire, not a guaranteed payment per month when you get to be 65. Clearly a step backward.

I predict that the President will win this election, the results will be tight and close.

Amazing how quickly Americans forget, Chaney and his puppet Bush and Rice started two useless wars, Only Mr. Powell had the decency to leave this team, and he does in fact support Obama and the current administration, while remaining a member of the Republican party.

Anyway..my prediction, Mr.Obama will win this election and who knows but it is possible that his wife may want to contest the next election in four years to be the first female president and the second black president elected. Who knows.


Fred --

I didn't want this to get lost in the excitement of everything that will happen tomorrow, so I wanted to take a moment, right now, to say two simple words that I cannot say enough to all of you who have traveled this journey with us: Thank you.

Thank you for the kindness, warmth, and love that you have shown me, Barack, and especially our girls -- your support and your prayers mean the world to us. Thank you for the hard work and energy and passion that you have poured into this campaign -- from all those hours knocking on doors and making calls to all those times you dug a little deeper and gave what you could when it was needed the most.

Like me, you have done all this because you love this country, and you care deeply about the world we're leaving for our kids and grandkids. And you've done it because, for these last four years, you have had a chance to see the man I've known for the past 23 years: A man of honor and integrity who knows what he believes and stays true to his values. He is an honest man who knows the facts and gives them to us straight -- a man whose strength and resolve to build a better tomorrow has never wavered.

With your help, over the past four years, Barack has been able to start moving this country forward. He's rescued our economy from the brink of collapse. He's passed health reform and ended the war in Iraq. He's fought to help women get equal pay for equal work, make sure students can afford college, ensure that our seniors can retire with dignity, and that our veterans can get the benefits they have earned.

For four years, Barack has been fighting to give every single one of us a fair shot at that great American dream, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.

He's been able to do all of this only because of people like you -- because of your hard work, determination, and commitment.

And tomorrow, everything we've been working for and fighting for is at stake. Tomorrow, we will decide whether we'll keep moving this country forward for four more years. So make sure to tell everyone you know to vote, and then help every last supporter get to the polls before tomorrow night. You can even make calls to voters from the comfort of your own home using our call tool.

Our family has been truly blessed to share these past four years with all of you -- and we can't wait to continue our work together for the next four years. So tomorrow, let's get out there and finish what we started:

Thank you again for everything you've done and everything you will continue to do to bring about that change we all believe in.

Michelle