Hope and Change
Back in 2008, millions of people supported Barack Obama because they believed he could CHANGE Washington. Some also thought he could solve numerous problems - even Messiah-like.
Despite what some Liberals and Democrats, or even some Tea Party types, might think, President's don't have kingly powers. One man cannot radically change this country no matter how much some people want or some may think he can. We do have three branches of government. There are checks and balances between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The first article of the Constitution says "ALL legislative powers...shall be vested in a Congress." The second article vests "the executive power...in a President." The third article places the "judicial power of the United States in one Supreme Court" and "in such inferior Courts as the Congress...may establish." We do not have a dictatorship, monarchy, or aristocracy. We have a Republic in this country. Be careful though, a Republic does not mean the Republicans run the show. Our officials are elected in a democratic process.
You Didn't Build That
This election season, President Obama was quoted as saying "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
One would be very hard pressed to find anything in our business culture that a single person built. I can honestly say, I have touched nearly every part of my house through its renovation, but Sears put in the most of the windows, Home Depot installed the kitchen cabinets, and Trane put in a new furnace. Large and small businesses that have employees do not achieve success just by the sweat and toil of the founder. He or she had the inspiration, but no - they did not build it alone. I built the new walls in my house, but I still needed help standing them up. And of course, government does help people create their business. Maybe it's regulations that control the quality construction materials, or the cities who built the roads that allow you and your customers access your business, or provided you clean water for your manufacturing process. It's kind of hard to do everything on your own. The days of the land rushes and homesteading are long since passed. But remember, even then it took the US government to provide those lands.
Gas Prices, Jobs, Foreign Policy
Presidential power only goes so far.
Gas
So, guess what everyone - we live in a world economy. Whether you like it or not. If the European economy get's the flu, we get the sniffles. China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Millions of people are moving from the interior of China to the cities and are becoming part of the burgeoning middle class. Because of the, fuel consumption has gone up. For those of you who took Economics 101, it is simple supply and demand. Ergo, prices go up. All it takes is a negative story about Iran, or Egypt, or Venezuela, for prices to rise. Presidents, even those of America, have no control over gas prices.
Jobs
During the second debate between Obama and Romney said "Government does not create jobs. Government does not create jobs." Yes, he said that - check the transcript. Well, neither does the President - Obama, Romney, Bush, or Clinton. They can help create the environment for businesses to hire, but they cannot guarantee more jobs or promise them. Employers have learned to exist with fewer people. Until the economy really starts growing at a faster pace, they are not going to hire. I think it's a Catch 22 situation though. More people earning wages means a stronger economy, but they need to be hired first.
Foreign Policy
Did you know that a President of the US can tell other countries what to do? Gee, I thought imperialism was over - at least for America. Iran, Libya, Egypt, Russia, Israel, and China, amongst others, are all sovereign countries. We can rattle our sabers all we want. That does not mean any country has to concede to our power and will. Sanctions can make people more resolute and defiant. Waging war against an enemy can just create more of them. China and the US have a symbiotic relationship. We buy each others stuff. They lend us money. They build more things than we used to and then ship it to our ports. We can't tell any country what to do. We don't own them. We can negotiate and strongly object, but that's it. We certainly cannot afford to wage a new war anywhere in the word (in my opinion).
In Conclusion
I know my arguments are simplistic. I also know I do not offer any solutions. I am just one person. Which is my point. The President is just one person. Mitt Romney is just one person. At the moment, he is just another citizen of America. Neither man has the power we seem to have bestow on them. They still have to operate in the rules of the Constitution. It is scary when I read, or hear, people say we have become a Fascist or Communist state. I think those people don't give nearly enough credit to everyone else in the US government. How could the US change that drastically just because of one man. It can't. No one has that much power.
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