Ham on Wry is tackling some issues in today's blog that will factor into the election in November this year. Understanding other cultures and global challenges occupies a position as an important consideration one can use to choose a candidate to for President. The United States can not insulate itself from the rest of the world because a global economy and instant communication exist today. It is impossible to disengage from the variety of relationships we have with manufacturing, financial, communication, and technology partners, for example. President Obama has lived in multi-cultural environments and attended school in Jakarta, Indonesia when his step-father, a student at a college in Hawaii, was called home after President Suharto took office. Some see that as a drawback. This blogger views it as an asset that allows him to understand some of the biggest current trouble spots .
President Obama has overseen the elimination of Osama bin Laden and some of his top leaders in Al Quaeda and has gained respect from G8 members and other allies. His call for working in tandem with other nations to solve the crisis in Libya proved successful as well. He avoids knee-jerk decisions to send our military into nations that are facing internal conflicts and haven't attacked the United States. A major part of the reason we face a budget deficit lies in the fact that he inherited the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars from his predecessor. Previous blogs have listed the financial outlay and the cost in injured soldiers and damaged or lost equipment.
President Obama understands the financial strains many families face because he experienced them himself. He lived with his grandparents for many years, who had money constraints that forced them to live humly. He faced adversity as the son of a white mother and African father, which allows him to understand those kinds of problems in our society. His wife sometimes sneaks into target or a grocery store, just to mingle with people other those who frequent the White House. Obama "feels our pain."
To those who continue to doubt his citizenship or his religious affiliation, I say, "Get over it!" These criticisms mask the true intent of such doubts. President Obama is mixed race, and some people have problems accepting him as their leader. Shame on all of them! Every human has well over 99% of the same gene make-up and Caucasians are a minority in the world. It's time to bury racial issues and live fully in the 21st century.
Mitt served as a Mormon missionary in France, so he lived in another culture, which, at the time, was predominately white. However, France is one of our allies, and it didn't teach him anything about third world nations. He met his wife Ann Davies before leaving on his mission and returned home when he felt he was losing her affection. They married soon after and had five children, all boys.
Romney spent his career in consulting, starting at Boston Consulting Group, then joining Bain, and eventually headed Bain Capital as its CEO. Not long after making the switch, he changed the model from buying start-ups to buying existing firms with borrowed money, known as leveraged buyouts. He garnered an excellent reputation for a fair management style and success in running Bain Capital. The company's main aim was to maximize the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, rather than creating jobs at the acquired companies. As such, some of the LBO's wound up in bankruptcy and many were forced to lay off large numbers of employees. That alone stands in stark contrast to what Obama is trying to do his first term. It creates a disconnection with the current emphasis on lowering the unemployment rate in the US. Mitt Romney knows how to make money, but he does not know anything about creating jobs in the businesses of which he was a part.
The majority of Americans don't have money in offshore accounts, nor do they have a personal net worth of at least $190 million in blind trusts and an additional $75 million or more in blind trusts for their heirs. I don't know whether Ann has ever shopped at Target or a local grocery, but I suspect she has had a great deal of help in handling household affairs with that kind of money. Mitt strikes me as a decent human being who has no idea how to interact authentically with ordinary people because he isn't one and really never has been.
No matter what a reader thinks of President Obama personally, I don't think we can afford to change the nation's leadership in the middle of the many conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Mitt might be a nice guy, but running this country isn't about profit, it's about people.
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