Monday, November 8, 2010

I must say I was rather pessimistic about the result of this election on November 2nd. Although I am happy that some balance was restored to Congress in the sense that we're less likely to see all Democratic ideals passed.

At the same time however, I was not happy by the impact that was created and the Republicans response to victory.

The Republicans in an opportunistic move chose to credit the tea party for their rise back to the top and essentially take credit for their movement's impact. This only gives me the indication that the Tea Party which has very little to offer in terms of fixing the problem will likely dictate terms in Washington.

There are still multiple issues to deal with, including how Barack Obama will have to manage now that his majority in the House has been completely reversed and his Senate is not anywhere near the Super-majority it once held. But in my opinion these next two years will be his greatest opportunity to redeem himself with the American public.

Fiscal involvement: Republican legislation will likely press for tax cuts on all levels and a spending cut. President Obama has stated his intention to return to fiscal responsibility but his record indicates otherwise with a large stimulus and a large healthcare reform bill. President Obama is not in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy but this might be where he'll have to compromise. His best solution?: He would have to either accept Republicans behavior on their tax cut notion and he'll have to cut spending by an even bigger margin.

Healthcare Repeal: President Obama will have to and likely will stand his ground on reform but he said he was willing to make some minor tweaks to the bill. Republicans, particularly Tea Party candidates will want to scrap the bill altogether but this has to be the issue where President Obama keeps his ground. Anyway, a repeal of the bill has little passing success in a still Democratically controlled Senate.

Education Reform: This is one of the President's next goals in mind and he should ask for bipartisan support on the upcoming legislation

Job Creation: The Tea Party has already got the wrong idea and is now criticizing Obama for his 2010 Asia trip starting in India. The president seems to understand 21st century economics in which countries can no longer rely on themselves to recreate jobs. Foreign deals with rising powers have to be made if the US wants to end its unemployment slump. The Tea Party should either recognize this or promote a different solution rather than producing incessant criticism.

War on Terror: This already has bipartisan support and will likely continue although this is a big component in reducing spending. The conflict has to be taken up by regular citizens who realize extremism is crippling their progress. The US has to shift focus towards the people to stand up against Al Qaeda. Kill the philosophy, not the people who believe in it. This is where the focus should turn.

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