Tag Archives: president

Presidential Candidates in a Nutshell

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Prior to president Obama’s speech on “jobs” tonight, I thought I’d jot down the most representative cynical statement that pops to mind about each of the candidates for president in 2012.

barack-obamaBarack Obama:

Compromise means you have to be willing to sacrifice all of your core beliefs.

rich-perryRick Perry:

Social security is a Ponzi scheme. PS: Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs!

ron-paulRon Paul:

Heroin should be legalized. PS: Gold, gold, gold!

 

Mitt-RomneyMitt Romney:

My views may change based on who I’m speaking to, but my hair is always unchangeably perfect.

michelle-bachmannMichele Bachmann:

Sarah Palin without the charm. Ron Paul without the intellect.
PS: Two dollar gas if I’m president!

Jon-HuntsmanJon Huntsman:

I hold the radical belief that maybe possibly there’s a chance that science could be right on something.

herman_cainHerman Cain:

I have a plan with a catchy name for every problem in America. PS: Muslims, muslims, muslims, muslims!

newt-gingrichNewt Gingrich:

I agree with everyone here. Now I’m heading off to the Bahamas. Email me if I win.

rick-santorumRick Santorum:

I am genuinely surprised to be included in this blog post.

 

gary-johnsonGary Johnson:

I climbed Mount Everest. I am an actual small-government libertarian governor. But just listen to me talk for a minute. I’m obviously insane.

Sorry to present the field as a circus, but I’ve been quite cynical about the theater of it all. Intelligent debate is all but gone from the presidential campaigning process. I would love to see a 2-3 hour debate/conversation between Obama and a reasonable republican like Colin Powell or even Jon Huntsman. But that’s not happening…

State of the Union: Winner of the Science Fair

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Thomas Edison

I wrote the State of the Union Speech that the President delivered yesterday. I know this because he said everything that I wanted him to say:

“We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”

Too often, major political speeches focus on the issue of the day that captures the short attention span of the public due to overwhelming media coverage. Katrina, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, healthcare reform, the economic recession are all examples. The economy seems to always be a major topic, with proposals all sounding the same from year to year: cut wasteful spending, cut taxes for people making less than X.

This year’s State of the Union speech, however, spent a good 20 minutes on the importance of innovation and education. This, in my opinion, is the foundation of major economic growth. Aggressively funding and prioritizing research and education is the silent engine that has made America the leader of the free world with the airplane, the computer, the first step on the moon, the internet, etc. It’s not as exciting to talk about perhaps as the justification of war in the Middle East or the intricacies of tax policy for the very rich, but it’s the key catalyst of our incredible growth in the 20th century.

We need to nourish the inventor ideal. And I’m glad that Obama recognizes the essential value of that.