Every day we are told by the polling experts that our confidence in the future is eroding, unemployment is worsening, GDP growth has stalled, spending continues unabated, but we still like President Obama. Can both conclusions be true?
Probably Not! So why then are both outcomes mentioned in many polls. The organizations conducting the polls hold your responses in confidence, or so they say. Are those being polled afraid their answers will not be private and secure? It appears this concern is a "real" belief and thus the dishonest answers follow...the danger according to some "experts" is a fear of being labeled a racist or bigot. Another possibility is most current polls are "all adult" polls, not "register voter" or "likely voter" polls. Many "all adult" polls contain adults 18 and older, many adults who are not registered, and adults who cannot vote by law (i.e. felons, aliens etc.). My belief is this dichotomy is a function of these and other reasons...no "simple" answer exists, yet poll respondents are not truthful in answering, "do you like the president".
Do the American people believe the economic, unemployment, GDP, debt, tax and confidence statistics they are hearing and evaluating? The polls indicate that some do and some do not. Cynicism is rampant among Americans and many are not critically evaluating the information with which they are being bombarded. Some say it is "too early", I'll pay attention later...some say "I'm getting mine...everyone else is"...if I vote for Romney "the checks will stop" but if I vote for the President "they will keep coming"...what should I do?
Americans ultimately believe in American exceptionalism and America's future. They want their children to have at least the chance they had! They instinctively understand that the economy is in trouble, even crisis...that unemployment is 8.2%, that 14.8% are unemployed and underemployed, and it would be even worse if so many of the unemployed had not "dropped out" after months of looking for work without success. Do they know that 53 months after the recession started 23.2 million people are unemployed or underemployed or even how a recession is defined...no, but they do know that 3 of their neighbors are out of work and 2 have had their homes foreclosed...and they are uneasy they may have the same difficulty soon. They do know that things are "not fine" and fewer people are employed today than when the President took office.
Some Americans remember John F. Kennedy's successful economic strategy, more remember Ronald Reagan's and some are even the beneficiaries of similar strategies employed by Governors Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels, John Kasich, Chris Christie and others. These strategies include tactics such as lowering taxes, relying on the private sector, reducing regulations, individual responsibility and promoting business.
I feel certain, as the election nears, a majority will reject the current politics of division, demonization, and blame of the President's administration and choose a new and prosperous course!
