The Big Winner Has Already Been Decided

The Big Winner of this election season has already been decided.

Obama? McCain? A week ago, I would have said that it looked like Obama would win the election for President, and though that is still the likely result, that contest has tightened significantly. Regardless, the race for President will not be decided until all the votes are counted.

As important as the election is to the future of our country, it pales in comparison to the larger battle which has been raging, and who’s winner has indeed been determined. That bigger battle is honesty and integrity versus Politics as Usual. Our current crisis, the most serious since the depression, posed a risk to the establishment that we the people would wake up. We the people are indeed the sleeping bear that philosophers have warned against awakening.

As the financial markets were crashing the leadership of the most unpopular administration in a great many years boldly proclaimed that they needed immediate Congressional approval for $700 billion tax dollars to be spent to save the economy. After failing to pass on its’ first trip through Congress, our leaders on both sides solemnly retreated to thrash out an agreement, emerging a few days later and passing the biggest bailout in the history of the country.

It did have a few more strings attached, which is good, but it also had some more plumbs attached, about $100 billion or so more tax dollars to entice those who initially opposed the bill to support it. With the bill passed, bipartisan efforts appeared to cease as both sides cranked their awesome spin machines up to wide open to get the blame to land on the other side. Politics as Usual, except that now both sides were essentially in panic mode. Heaven forbid that the mess they created got so big, hurt so many so badly that they accidentally awoke the sleeping bear, We the People.

What have we seen since then? We have seen Democrats blaming Republicans, Republicans blaming Democrats, everyone blaming Wall Street speculators and corporate executives. The most sophisticated spin machines ever created using every trick in the book to get us to vote for one side or the other: quotes out of context, misinformation, smears, personal attacks, denials, outright lies, elevating negative campaigning to new heights. The mass of pure BS so has been huge that it is impossible for us to sort through seeking the truth. In reality, both sides know they bear responsibility for a major portion of the blame, but that is the beauty of Politics as Usual. Both sides can use their attacks on the sins of the other side to obscure their own faults.

Who is the big winner of this election season? (drum roll) Politics as Usual. The sleeping bear awoke, but Politics as Usual was able obscure the bits of truth coming out with so much pure BS that the bear was overwhelmed. The problem was too confusing, The slimy concoction spewing from the spin machines was too slippery for the bear to be able to find the truth. Once it realized that at least a part of what its’ side was accusing the other side of was true, it was easy excuse the accusations the other side was shooting back. The mass of spin once again convinced the bear that it was powerless to even find the truth, much less find the best answer. An unhappy bear to be sure, and one still capable of taking a nasty swipe with its’ claws, but a bear once again buying the essence of the spin from one side or the other. Politics as Usual is once again victorious.

Who is truly to blame for the mess we are in? The President? Congress? Either or both candidates? Wall Street? Corportate America? The Media? Democrats? Republicans? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that all of the above absolutely deserve a portion of the blame. The greed and corruption which created this mess have indeed been rampant in all of the above. Who’s job is it to keep them in check? That is where the blame truly rests.

Who is the guilty party? I am. That’s right: me. I allowed myself to be lulled back to sleep after being awakened by the first oil crisis. Sure, I took a few swipes with my claws. I did my part, I even bought what was then one of the most green cars on the market: a shiny new 1977 Honda Accord,40 MPG, and the only car able to meet California emission standards without using a catalytic converter. Soothed by the comfort of knowing I had done my part and that my side was talking a good show for progress on energy, I could focus my efforts on my own life and let our leaders take care of the problems. Politics as Usual won that round with me.

It was not the economic meltdown that awoke me this time; it was one of the contributing factors that finally got me fully awake, alert, and angry. The news that our oil imports had gone from 35% at the time of our first oil crisis to more than 60% shocked me awake. Proving for myself that this statistic was indeed true opened my eyes further. What I have seen since, as the situation has gone from bad to far far worse has angered and disgusted me. All I have seen is Politics as Usual.

Obama, McCain, business leaders, media, I give you fair warning. Politics as Usual will NOT lull this bear back to sleep this time. I am sick and tired of having to sort through a 50 pound bag of garbage just to find 1 pound of truth. I trust none of you, I will accept nothing that any of you say unless properly supported facts I can verify. I don’t care which side wins, both sides have some good ideas and some bad. Whichever side wins, let me remind you that I am your boss, I demand honesty and integrity, and real solutions to the real problems our great nation faces. When the election is over, this bear will not hibernate. This bear will do what I can do to awaken my fellow bears, also known as We the People, your employers.