THINK!

No single person, no special group and no single party is big enough to preside over a $14 trillion economy and a world of 6.5 billion people. Just think about it. The domestic challenges are too big to handle without the support of the opposition party. The international challenges are just beyond human imagination. This is precisely why George W Bush presidency failed. Should Barack Obama become the president, he would need at least 20 Republican Senators to achieve any meaningful domestic agenda. He probably will not have even the Clintons on board, forget about the Republicans. On the flip-side, if John McCain is elected the President, he would need at least 20 Democratic Senators, besides full support from George W Bush, Bob Gates and many civil-servants from the current administration.

Let us talk about a hot-button domestic issue. The price of gas at the pump. McCain wants to suspend the fuel tax and Obama wants to institute a ‘windfall profit tax’ on big oil. These are gimmicks, both are being dishonest. They both want to pander to the angry electorate. The only solution to the price of gas is the ‘long term energy policy’. This policy is toxic to either side. The Republicans want to drill in the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) province in Northeast Alaska and also start building new Nuclear Power Stations. The Democrats on the other hand want to rely on conservation, renewable energy and green technologies, meaning doing nothing. Both sides are rigid for the past 30 years and would continue to take the same positions for the next 20 years, without any solution.

The fact of the matter is that the price of oil is a function of supply and demand. We are talking about not only the domestic demand and supply, but the global supply of oil and gas as well as the demand around the world, specially in the emerging economies. Considering the stagnant supply in the domestic market, no amount of finger-pointing is going to help. Besides, the boogeyman  of “speculators” should be rejected and done with. This is the time Republicans and Democrats need to come together and put ‘everything‘ on the table. All the Democratic proposals and all the Republican proposals have got to be a part of the ‘American Solution’, including everything. Failing this, the ‘American Consumer’ should be prepared to pay $4 to $5 per gallon at the pump for the foreseeable future.

Next November, before you go and vote for your candidate, ask yourself and your candidate, does he have the courage to negotiate a ‘Long Term Energy Policy’ with the opposition? If yes, ask the names of the opposition senators who would support his ‘Comprehensive Energy Bill’ in the Senate. Do you really believe Senator John McCain would have the required votes in the Congress? Do you really believe that Senator Barack Obama would have the required votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass an ‘Energy Bill’? If not, then you would rather have a ‘George Washington’ for President to pull us out of this mess.

Filed under: American Tagged: | $14 trillion economy, 6.5 billion people, American Consumer, American Solution, Angry Electorate, ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Barack Obama, Big-Oil, Bob Gates, boggy-man, Civil-Servants, Clintons, Comprehensive Energy Bil, Conservation, Current Administration, Democratic Proposals, Democratic Senators, Democrats, Domestic Agenda, Domestic Challenges, Domestic Issue, Domestic Market, Drill, Emerging Economies, Energy Bill, finger-pointing, Fuel Tax, Gas, George W Bush, George Washington, Global Supply, Green Technologies, hot-button, House of Representatives, International Challenges, John McCain, Long Term Energy Policy, McCain, Northeast Alaska, Nuclear Power Stations, Obama, Oil and Gas, Opposition Party, Pander, President, Pump, Renewable Energy, Republican Proposals, Republican Senators, Republicans, Speculators, Stagnant Supply, Supply and Demand, The American Presidency, The Democrats, The Republicans, The Senate, Toxic, Windfall Profit Tax