There is going to be a new president in January. Whether it's McCain or Obama can we all just support him and try to get some stuff done? I am sick of the perpetual campaigning. We must get off foreign oil, get the economy back on track, fix social security+ medicaid, reform immigration, and rebuild our infrastructure. We've been living high on the hog for a long time. It's time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and fix this country. Together.

I agree. Those are important things to do. And I agree that cooperation is a lost value.

I would propose that shrinking the government would be a big benefit toward achieving all of those goals.

Smaller government (meaning fewer draconian regulations, less paperwork, and fewer bureaucrats to deal with it all) would lead to:
Innovation- in the areas of education, energy, pollution control. It's comical to me how villified Rockefeller is by people who love their cars and long drives.
Stop forcing education to be centrally controlled by "experts". "Experts" who spend all their time in university classrooms and have never had a job in the outside world. If you want infrastructure you need skilled labor, and that means local control of education to meet local needs. Bring back schools to teach precision machining, construction and other trades.


SS+medicaid- Smaller gov't means taxes get used better. More importantly, small gov't means people don't adopt the mindset that there is a huge mother hen to help them out. They learn to take care of themselves.

Immigration- Small gov't may mean that fewer immigrants come here expecting a safety net to cover their needs. It also could mean less tolerance of immigration advocates who are really scofflaws. It is a bloated bureaucracy that has the time to consider the ridiculous arguments posed by these people in the courts. Shrink the gov't and busy civil servants won't have time to get involved in this nonsense.

Can we? Certainly.
Should we? Without question.
Will we? No way in hell.

Even if there is a short-term spirit of cooperation, it will quickly dissolve into partisan bickering as each party starts to stake out territory for the 2012 election cycle.

I have zero faith in any of the politicians to use common sense and put the needs of the American people and the long-term health of the country first.

I wish we could agree on one thing:

Politics end at the waters edge.

firmbizzle Wrote:There is going to be a new president in January. Whether it's McCain or Obama can we all just support him and try to get some stuff done? I am sick of the perpetual campaigning. We must get off foreign oil, get the economy back on track, fix social security+ medicaid, reform immigration, and rebuild our infrastructure. We've been living high on the hog for a long time. It's time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and fix this country. Together.

If it's Obama, I hope the Republicans take him to task on everything, slander him throughout the papers, and filibuster every damn bill his congressional counterparts introduce. You guys got the ball rolling on this. What's good for the goose. .....

Rebel Wrote:

firmbizzle Wrote:There is going to be a new president in January. Whether it's McCain or Obama can we all just support him and try to get some stuff done? I am sick of the perpetual campaigning. We must get off foreign oil, get the economy back on track, fix social security+ medicaid, reform immigration, and rebuild our infrastructure. We've been living high on the hog for a long time. It's time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and fix this country. Together.

If it's Obama, I hope the Republicans take him to task on everything, slander him throughout the papers, and filibuster every damn bill his congressional counterparts introduce. You guys got the ball rolling on this. What's good for the goose. .....

Got the ball rolling with who?

and in this spirit of coopetration we get:

Quote:If it's Obama, I hope the Republicans take him to task on everything, slander him throughout the papers, and filibuster every damn bill his congressional counterparts introduce. You guys got the ball rolling on this. What's good for the goose. .....

Yep Rove and Cheney are world known for their spirit of bi-partianship.