We’ve traded popularity for prosperity

With a national debt of $14 trillion, a budget deficit of $1.4 trillion, a jobless rate near 10 percent, rising inflation, two wars, Islamic extremists, and ballooning housing foreclosures, the last thing we should be talking about is Obama’s popularity. In the private sector, shareholders do not care if a CEO is popular; they care if he runs a company well and insures that it is profitable.

This is not American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Our presidency has become more about style than substance. We elected a president with no economic experience, no business experience, no military experience, no management experience, no record of accomplishment, and scant political experience to run the world’s largest economy. Voters focused more on promises made and how those promises were presented than a record of delivering on promises.

We have become a nation more obsessed with charm, good looks, fancy clothes, style, and persuasiveness than character, morality, honesty, sincerity, and a proven record of accomplishments. Being likable does not make one a good parent, worker, manager, doctor, policeman, or politician.

Have we have traded prosperity for popularity?

Ray Cziczo

Antioch