RUTHFULLY YOURS

There’s an episode of the old cartoon Popeye where girlfriend Olive Oyl sings a song entitled, “If I Were President.” In keeping with that spirit, a very short list, in no particular order, of what I would attempt to achieve with four years in the Oval Office:

• With respect to Israel: I would make it clear we’re tired of the international tap dance and its anti-Semitic overtones. Israel is our BFF and those Arab nations who refuse to recognize its existence will be weaned off the foreign aid teat ASAP. As for the “peace” flotilla headed towards Gaza in June, it wouldn’t be the Israeli Navy boarding and inspecting the ships. It would be the U.S. Navy.
• With respect to Islamic terror in general: we would no longer interested in winning hearts and minds, or nation building, or engaging in politically correct warfare. Anything considered a threat to America’s national security would be met will lethal and devastating force. Once the threat was eliminated, the troops would come home. The threat re-appears? So would we.
• Energy: as a result of the above reality, an historically unprecedented and massive push for energy independence would be undertaken — via executive order by the Commander-in-Chief responding to one of the primary threats to our national security. Why an executive order? To eliminate enviro lawsuits, like the one that just stopped Shell oil from drilling in Alaska. This nation is quite capable of being both environmentally responsible and energy intensive, without being held hostage by people who think driving a Prius makes them morally superior. Those who want to live like a cavemen would be free to do so. Those who wish to live in the 21st century would be equally free to do so.
• Our borders: same executive order, same reason. Heaven help the first sitting president who has to tell the American public that the terrorist who just killed thousands of our fellow citizens, snuck into the country across our unsecured southern border. There would be no “vested interests” in either party who would be allowed to compromise our nation’s sovereignty for any reason.
• The budget: my administration would begin with the very simple premise that the most effective government is one that works from the local level outward, not the federal, command-and-control level inward. In keeping with that premise, some Cabinet-level Departments, such as Education and Energy, would be axed. My administration would get rid of the practice, wherever feasible, of states sending money to Washington, D.C., only to have federal bureaucrats siphon their”vig” off the top before sending it back. That’s nothing more than a federal power grab, and it’s inefficient to the max. I would convene a national conference of both small and big business owners, aka the people who actually work for a living, and have them tell the politicians what it takes to get the economy moving again — not the other way around as is currently occurring. I would televise the entire thing.

Next, my administration would lower tax rates across the board. Can’t figure out why companies “outsource” jobs? So would you, if the government was making it next to impossible to stay here. I would de-regulate for the same reason, with one caveat: no more wrist-slap, he’s suffered enough sentences for those who game the system. If you do the crime under my administration, you would do the time — big time.

Next, I would dig the Grace Commission Report out of mothballs and start working on its recommendations for cutting spending. I would really go through the budget line by line, item by item, and once again televise the ongoing procedures. I’m betting it would be one of the more compelling “reality shows” ever broadcast. My administration would also make sure the public is well aware of who sponsored what “pet program” that lives on like a vampire, sucking the lifeblood out of the American taxpayer.

Speaking of taxpayers, I would institute another national conversation regarding tax reform, one vested with an energy and determination required by a country on the brink of bankruptcy. Whatever reforms are adopted, one principle would be part of the equation: everyone would pay income, consumption or “fair” taxes, even if the lowest bracket is one percent. The days of nearly half the country subsidizing the other half, aka the “free lunch” fiasco — which is the best way to insure that government spending never gets under control — would be over.

• States’ rights: it’s been a long time since Americans understood why this country is called the United Statesof America. Fifty separate constituencies would be given maximum freedom to innovate, to compete, and do anything else to improve the lives of their citizens without the heavy hand of Washington, D.C. interfering. Government works best when it satisfies the greatest number of people as often as possible. Americans understood that for most of their history. Re-teaching that lesson would be a priority under my administration.

• Overall leadership: two things come to mind. First, I would give new life to the idea that America is the greatest nation on earth. Just as importantly, I would communicate that message in no uncertain terms to the American public. No one did it better than Ronald Reagan, and my administration would strive to get that “shining city on a hill” message to resonate once again. The contemptuous notion endorsed by progressives and the current president that American exceptionalism is the same as every other country’s exceptionalism is utter crap, best expressed by a comedian who once remarked, “30 million illegals can’t be wrong.” Every aspect of our greatness is still intact, save one: we’re no longer communicating the wonders of America and the greatness of our Constitution to our children. That’s a national embarrassment. I would do everything in my power as president to change that equation.

Second, under my administration, the notion that government must cater to the lowest common denominator of human behavior would be deader than the proverbial door nail. The “no-expectations” approach to governance has been an unmitigated disaster. Good government shouldn’t dictate behavior, but it can sure as hell raise the bar regarding what’s acceptable and what’s not. When Bill Clinton signed on to welfare reform in 1995 we were told people would never adjust and there would be mayhem. They adjusted. The bet here is the overwhelming majority of Americans would also adjust to other expectations regarding decent behavior as well. Why is this important? Because we’re currently learning a painful lesson: no country can survive if most of its citizens are corrupt. My administration would confront such corruption head-on.

That’s about it — for now. A rant? To be sure, but one that gives me a bit of a cathartic feeling. I’m sure Olive Oyl felt the same way.