America has been through a brutal six and half years. We began President Bush’s first term with the attacks on 9-11, then went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and through all of this saw taxes reduced and major policies enacted (prescription drugs for seniors, education reform, etc). But all through these efforts we also had strong majorities in Congress to augment the President’s power and enact his programs. And we also had a united government, until the far left and far right both balked in 2004-2006.

Now we have divided government running in razor thin majorities. And the result is nothing much striking is getting done. It has been a sobering 6.5 years. We are not wildly naive and focused on playing as we were under Clinton – we are a much more serious nation after being attacked and having to face the problems of the world and sacrifice ourselves for the greater good. I should note we were also were humbled by nature during this period when we witnessed the impact of a Category 5 Hurricane hitting one of our nations largest cities, and when an underwater earthquake created a tsunami that wiped out hundreds of thousands of lives.

At least for myself I cannot never go back into the fantasy Nirvana, pretending there is nothing out there to worry about. And I don’t buy quick fix promises anymore – not after Iraq reminds us the world of TV fiction, where fixing problems within an hour or a week or two is the norm, is just not unrealistic expectation.

So when I see two leading candidates putting out pure BS I find it insulting to the intellect of this nation, and the wisdom we have earned after 6.5 years of dealing with the problems facing this world. John Edwards pulled the lowest of this BS in 2004 when he promised Christopher Reeve would walk if he and Kerry were elected. It was disgusting.

But now Huckabee has come out promising to gut the income tax and IRS and go to a national sales tax if he is elected. Get real! That would require such very large GOP majorities in Congress to get done right. If the Dems hold Congress (and there is a good chance they will) then there is no chance of this getting done without gouging the American taxpayer.

And Hillary is promising oil prices will drop if she is elected President! Oh pulleease. Who is going to buy this garbage? Somehow the oil demand and production capacities of the world are going to magically shift over night next November and all the price pressures on oil will go away? I don’t know which is worst: pols thinking Americans are dumb enough to buy this BS or pols who think they have superhuman powers to change history. Why should American see people who make incredible claims as credible leaders? They seem to better suited for Hollywood instead of DC.