Credit to Obama

While in a reflective mood, it came to me that Conservatives and Republicans alike share a lot of Obama's goals. No doubt, we would take different paths, but as a Conservative, I realize that until the political structure in this country changes, things are going to be done Obama's way. So I worked at finding positive things about what he is trying to accomplish. It makes no sense for any group that is not in power to keep their panties in a wad over what they cannot change. I know my readers will find this piece distasteful, but whether we want to believe it or not, we are all in this boat together. At the present, the majority does not support our ideas.

As it appears to me, Obama is acting neither on ideas that are shallow nor for any short time gain. One of those priorities is the reduction of our use of oil and other fossil fuels. His comprehensive goal is to reduce our demand by several means. Some of the first priorities is to get rid of the gas guzzling autos and use some of the new technologies like electric and alternative fuel. His plan for Detroit, aka GM and Chrysler includes the production of these vehicles. Next, he has taken steps that will curtail drilling and exploration for new oil in and around the United States.

Tax structures will send the prices for gasoline to high enough levels to force most hold outs with their SUV s and other gas-guzzlers to switch to the more economical vehicles. Deep down, I do not believe that he harbors some nefarious plan to destroy this country. Obama is only giving it a nudge to where market forces would eventually take us, but only after the price of oil is too high to use.

We are also starting to learn how to monitor the electrical energy that we use every day. The new technology could have beneficial results and we could potentially save a lot on energy. For instance, using electricity at certain times is less costly than at others. During peak demand times is a bad time to be adding more electrical load to the system. Learning to co-operate and use electricity less sporadically will help a lot with power generation. The new technologies will help us in that respect.

The reduction in our use of oil will also accomplish another good thing. Countries like Venezuela, Russia, and those in the Middle East will see their selling price for oil dwindle as the United States decreases its use of oil. By reducing our use of oil, we will gain the moral authority we need to persuade other countries to shed their dependence on oil. With the United States leading the way, our technologies on alternative sources will be in demand and possibly reinvigorate our economy.

Remember, Obama is a true believer in anthropogenic global warming. For that reason, I do not believe that he is out to wreck this country as some of the other writers and pundits have stated. It also explains his insistence on the cap and trade policy, even though it will be very costly to the American consumer.

Will his plans work? I don't think there is a snowballs chance in Hell of them working without turning us into a Socialist country. But we shall see. Kudos to him if it works and we maintain our free enterprise system, but the Conservative side of me thinks he will overreach with all of the other items on his list. Energy independence alone would be a big item to accomplish without nationalizing healthcare and cap and trade. Those ideas are very contentious and divisive. We can do without such initiatives at this time. As to the roadwork and other infrastructure projects, that infrastructure work is both necessary and will be an investment in the future.

This is not a capitulation on my part, just a realization that any attempts to upstage Obama before his ideas have had the chance to mature would be counter-productive to any opposition group. Americans will continue to support him if he can show some progress with his efforts. American support is his shield against efforts to thwart him.

Cheers,

-Robert-