All harsh realities still remain untold

Despite the premeditated machinations of cosmetically-enhanced CNN, ABC and MSNBC anchors, some dirty little secrets persist in the sprint for the White House.

Irrespective of stump speeches and emphatic debate declarations, neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton will pull U.S. forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan as promised. Even these self-absorbed career politicians quietly realize that America remains far too deeply invested in the region to justify a precipitous withdrawal, only to recommit troops to quell a subsequent escalation of violence.

Universal health care, as pontificated by both Democrat front-runners, will most certainly result in the worst of socialized medicine, enormous tax increases and a gargantuan federal program fraught with inefficiency, incompetence and fraud. Just ask the Canadians.

Loose, irresponsible political rhetoric exalting the imperative for American energy independence serves only sound bite-dependent candidates, unwilling to address an unpopular truth. Either we harvest known oil reserves in our own backyard, support them with new refineries, expand our use of nuclear power, and dramatically increase our alternative fuels research or we simply put the American public on a draconian energy diet, wrecking the economy.

Give me a straight-talk president, courageously addressing the cold, hard truth facing us. Real Americans can handle it.

William G. Parrot

McHenry