"Off and Running!"

Have you ever heard the term "He didn't live up to the hype"? I remember Brian Bosworth; he tore it up in college football and was a first rounder in the NFL Draft. Brian was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread; he turned out to be toast; injury prone and only flashes of talent. I remember Tony Mandrich, he looked like the "Incredible Hulk" on the cover of Sports Illustrated, also a first round draft pick for the Green Bay Packers. Some folks say Tony was the biggest draft bust in football history; tons of high hopes with virtually no return. I remember Tommy Morrison, he was the next great heavyweight according to Sylvester Stallone; unfortunately, Tommy couldn't take the punches as well as his movie icon's alter ego "Rocky Balboa". Sometimes a good press agent, or a good amateur career, can give us "major league" expectations about someone, and we find out they never should have left the minors. These players were "all hype, and no hope". Yesterday, Barack Obama announced his "hat is in the ring" once again. He said he will run for another term as our Chief Executive, and his fund raising will begin anew. Personally, I'm happy Mr. Obama is choosing to run again, I couldn't think of a weaker candidate for the Democrats to run. Mr. Obama has done his level best in the last two-plus years and it has been a disaster! Our domestic situation at its' very best can only be described as stagnant; and at its' worst can be called an American Apocalypse. Gigantic debt coupled with huge spending and a health care plan riddled with misconceptions and spurious conclusions are the "highlights" of Mr. Obama's accomplishments thus far. He has called for "transparency", yet we have seen more "closed door" policy making than the old Soviet Union. Our foreign policies are the most inept I've seen since that disaster we called the "Carter Administration". Mr. Obama seems dedicated to the weakening of America. We have given up huge pieces of our missile defense shield, and decided to trust Vladimir Putin to give us a square deal. He has proven that he is reticent to commit to the military by his dithering over decisions that warrant expedited action. Mr. Obama always gives the perception of how all situations will affect him politically, rather than how they will affect America and her security and well being. We have seen the manipulation of our justice system in the "picking and choosing" what our Attorney General will prosecute, and what he won't. I will be very interested in his new campaign speeches. I would be willing to wager that once again, we will see George Bush brought up in an effort to try to, once again, shift blame and refuse responsibility for his actions. If I were running against Barack Obama, I would be gleaning the sound bytes and videos for the plethora of contradictions that define him as a President and as a man. Now, we will see more of the man who has never really stopped running for office; always the candidate, rarely the President!