Poverty and the President

This time next year, we should have a Republican in place to challenge President Obama for the title of 'World's Most Powerful Man." The campaign, of course, is the ultimate reality show, and it could get nasty.

As it stands now, Obama has to be considered the favorite despite the shaky economy. The Osama bin Laden takedown was huge for him, and the Medicare debate is going his way, as well. The president is a shrewd campaigner and may have as much as a billion dollars in donated money at his disposal. That kind of cash can buy a lot of things.

If the Grand Old Party nominates a populist candidate, it will lose the election. Independent voters will decide the race, and they are looking for someone to improve their lives, not drive ideology. The tea party movement is a force, but unless it is willing to compromise in some areas, there will be no celebration in Boston Harbor come November 2012.

The key to defeating Obama is understanding him. He is driven by one thing above all: social justice. He fervently believes that prosperous Americans have a moral obligation to help the deprived not only in the United States, but all over the world. This cause influences just about all of his decision-making.

The problem is that Obama does not really understand what drives poverty and hopelessness. Writing in the publication "Public Square," theologian R.R. Reno clearly defines the issue: "A Christian who hopes to follow the teachings of Jesus needs to reckon with a singular fact about American poverty: Its deepest and most debilitating deficits are moral, not financial; the most serious deprivations are cultural, not economic. Many people living at the bottom of American society have cell phones, flat-screen TVs, and some of the other goodies of consumer culture. But their lives are a mess."

For the president, social justice is all about money. And he is well on his way to bankrupting the nation in attempting to achieve it. The only cultural point the president has emphasized is that fathers need to be held accountable in supporting their children. Otherwise, the cultural aspect of poverty does not seem to exist for Obama.

The Republican Party seems lost to define the real issue: Can the country survive four more years of a president who simply does not want to cut entitlement spending? The risk is enormous because, once re-elected, Obama can veto any spending-cut bills that cross his desk.

Right now, Democrats are scaring senior citizens into believing their present benefits will be cut if Obama and the Democrats lose. In order to counter that fiction, the GOP must scare right back. If America's debt is not arrested, the country will decline rapidly and in drastic ways.

The cold truth is that Americans will have to become more self-reliant if the country is to maintain its superpower status. Americans must begin planning for their future medical and financial needs, with some government help but not total dependence.

Transitions are usually difficult, but crunch time is here. If the Republican challenger cannot persuade voters that real danger is on their doorstep, the president will win re-election. No spin.