2012 Election Wrap-up

A friend of mine sought legal action to end her marriage.  As I recall, she had been married for a year or two, after a whirlwind courtship.  The way my friend explained it to me, the judge eventually annulled her marriage, rather than granting a divorce.  The judge's reasoning was that since the groom had badly misrepresented himself to my friend, she had never actually married HIM -- she had married some non-existent fictional character created by him, and therefore had never been married at all.

In a way, this illustrates my problem with the 2012 American Presidential Election, except that the non-existent, fictional character was created by President Obama and his campaign, and substituted for the real-life Mitt Romney.  The voters who voted for President Obama were not choosing between the real Barack Obama and the real Mitt Romney -- they were choosing between Barack Obama and a character that Obama and his campaign had created.  I believe that IF the voters had been presented with the choice of the REAL Barack Obama versus the REAL Mitt Romney, Romney would have easily won the election.

In support of my position, I offer up any of the three Presidential debates.  During each debate, President Obama spent considerable time stating not HIS beliefs and plans, but the beliefs and plans of Mitt Romney.  When Mitt Romney would attempt to intervene, and state his REAL beliefs and plans, President Obama would ignore him, and re-state what he had already said, arguing that only HE was capable of accurately stating the beliefs and plans of ... Mitt Romney.  Incidentally, this tactic alone was enough to ensure that I would not vote for Barack Obama -- or anyone else who used this tactic.  But, according to exit polls, many voters accepted Barack Obama's description of Mitt Romney, rather than Mitt Romney's.

Anyone who has followed my logic this far, and not quit reading in disgust, may respond that it was the real Mitt Romney's job to overcome Barack Obama's misrepresentation of him.  This can be close to impossible, especially when most of the news media is participating in the deception.

Most of my family and friends supported and voted for President Obama, in both the 2012 and 2008 elections.  I repeatedly observed a phenomenon that I have never seen before in politics.  In both campaigns, when anyone expressed criticism of Barack Obama, or support for his opponent, the Obama supporters often responded with words to the effect of "I don't want to hear that!" or "I will not talk about that!"  They did not defend their candidate or his positions -- they simply refused to engage in discussion, or listen to opposing views.  This is a new and puzzling phenomenon, and it does not bode well for the future of political discourse in America.  This was something that I observed personally -- perhaps it is not widespread.

My personal opinion of Barack Obama has always been based solely on Barack Obama.  When he makes a speech, I listen -- to the entire speech -- and when he takes action, I pay attention.  As the 2012 election approached, I noticed that when the people I was in contact with expressed criticism of Mitt Romney, it was almost never based on anything REAL -- not on his real past, or his real positions, or his real plans for America -- but instead on the lies spread by President Obama and his campaign.

I am not saying the recent election was illegal.  Even if elections could be annulled, President Obama and his campaign would continue to run against their fictional creation, and they would likely win again.  THAT's one of the biggest tragedies: now that the tactic has been successful, it will probably be used over and over in American politics.

Less than twelve years ago, George W. Bush became our forty-third President after an election that was too close to accurately count, and was, in the end, settled by the Supreme Courts of both Florida and the United States.  Prior to the election, George W. Bush had proven himself capable of working successfully in a bipartisan manner with his opponents as he served as Governor of Texas.  For his entire term as President, his opponents fought him tooth and nail, and then criticized him for his failure to win THEIR support.  People maintained his election was "illegal".  To this day, there are bumper stickers in my community referring to George W. Bush that proclaim "Not MY President!"  And to this day, President Obama and his supporters blame George W. Bush for their current problems.

One of the most exasperating things about politics is double standards.  For over twelve years, Democrats have fought, demonized, and ridiculed George W. Bush, and continue to do so.  When Barack Obama was elected President, Democrats indignantly insisted that the nation must suddenly "unite" and "respect the Office of the President".  Furthermore, they insisted, and continue to insist, that anyone NOT uniting behind President Obama is motivated primarily by racism.  In fact, for the last four years I have TRIED to unite behind President Obama, but in every single speech, at every opportunity, he attacks and mocks me and my beliefs (well, not me PERSONALLY -- he has shown no evidence of caring about me personally, or my opinions).  For four years, he has been unable to rise out of campaign mode, and shift into a mode of leadership.

It's a tricky and dangerous thing to accuse a politician of "divisiveness".  Often, the charge is leveled by those who have spent years opposing the politician, and attempting to persuade others to join in their opposition.  In the case of President Obama, he himself has led the opposition, by continuing to battle against the very people he is supposed to represent and lead.

In a perfect world -- the world of my dreams -- after an election, the opposing sides come together, agree that the voters have made their choice, and get down to the business of doing what is best for all.  President Obama and his supporters -- NOT Mitt Romney, and NOT those who opposed President Obama -- have made this difficult.  It remains to be seen whether they have made it impossible.

Truth is complicated.

P.S.  I was looking forward to writing about something OTHER than politics.  Maybe next time.