Sharpton's Blame

About a month ago I was flipping channels on the television -- actually, a friend was flipping the channels, and I was simply watching.  She stopped on a person I recognized as Al Sharpton.  I'm not sure what channel it was, but he seemed to be making a speech, delivering some sort of political commentary.  It appeared he may have his own program, or at least his own segment on a program.

He was talking about what bad shape the USA is in, and how Americans are suffering, and he seemed to be about to blame someone.  This surprised me.  Generally, when Americans want to blame someone for their situation, they blame their most powerful political leaders, and especially -- rightly or wrongly -- the President of the United States.  I don't know that much about Al Sharpton, but I did not think he would be wanting to blame the Democratic leaders of Congress, and I especially did not think he would be wanting to blame President Obama ... yet he definitely seemed to be working up to blaming someone.

Suddenly, the suspense was over.  He blamed Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.  He showed Mitt Romney on vacation, riding on a jet ski, and he talked about how Mitt Romney was remodeling and enlarging his summer home, and he showed a sports car rising on an elevator (the implication was that it was Mitt Romney's sports car rising on Mitt Romney's car elevator, but that may have been just an implication).  As Al Sharpton showed these various video clips, he made statements about how Mitt Romney is out of touch, and cannot understand the suffering of many (or most) Americans.

I am still a bit astounded as I write this.  I cannot quite figure out how Mitt Romney riding on a jet ski is responsible for making Americans suffer.  Perhaps if he was President, and riding on a jet ski while he had Presidential duties to perform ... but he is not President, and he has no political duties at this time, other than running for President.  I am not an economist, but it seems to me that one of the best ways for individual Americans to support our economy is for those who can afford to consume, to consume!  IF Mitt Romney is remodeling and enlarging buildings here in the USA, he is probably employing American workers, and using at least SOME American products ... truly and literally creating jobs.  And if he does have a car elevator, it was probably installed by American workers, and, again, made using at least SOME American products, made by American workers.  More people getting jobs and getting paid, thanks to the fact that Mitt Romney can afford to pay, and IS paying.

But the fact that I have spent the last paragraph discussing and defending Mitt Romney demonstrates that Al Sharpton has at least partially succeeded in deflecting the potential blame and attention from Barack Obama and our current Congressional leaders -- which seems to be the key element of the Obama campaign strategy at this point.  I must emphasize that I am NOT claiming that President Obama DESERVES any blame for America's present situation, and I am not even certain that Americans are indeed suffering.

I AM saying that it is preposterous for Al Sharpton to blame Mitt Romney for our present situation, especially while neglecting to blame President Obama (if he feels the need to blame SOMEONE).

I truly believe I can be fairly objective and bi-partisan about this.  For weeks and weeks, most of the political news I saw (and I have not been paying much attention) involved Democrats demanding that Mitt Romney release years and years of his tax returns.  I cannot figure out how the release of Mitt Romney's tax returns will make the world a better place, or put anyone in a better position to decide which candidate might make a better President.  Actually, since I have an unusually-strong belief in personal privacy, and Mitt Romney seems to be guarding the privacy of his own private tax returns, perhaps it indicates that he is a good candidate for someone like me, who values personal privacy.

The truth is that anytime there is an election between an incumbent and a challenger, the best, most objective source of information to guide a voter is found in the incumbent's record.  Either candidate can SAY they will or will not do things, or SAY what they believe, but the incumbent has a clear record that can be examined.  But in this Presidential election, attention is successfully being shifted away from the incumbent's record, and instead the chief focus seems to be on the fact that Mitt Romney is wealthy, and comes from a wealthy background (which is true of most American Presidential candidates, and most American Presidents).  This knowledge -- the knowledge that Mitt Romney is wealthy, and comes from a wealthy background -- is not information that I consider significant in choosing a President.  But it's most of the information that I am getting at the moment.

It may be good political strategy to shift focus away from things that are relevant to what the candidate might be expected to do if elected, and focus instead on irrelevant personal issues, but it is wrong.  It does not matter which candidate is "right", or which candidate is Democrat or Republican.  Currently, those who campaign for President Obama have successfully shifted the focus away from things that matter, and are focussing on things that do not matter, at least not to me.  Perhaps I am out of touch with Americans.

Truth is complicated.