“I Gotcha, Uh-huh-huh…” Joe Tex

One of the unwritten rules of social discourse when visiting relatives is to avoid talking about religion and politics. Similarly, I have largely avoided these topics in my blog posts. However, the Presidential campaign in late September is the 800 pound gorilla in the room–difficult to completely avoid the topic. And if you live in Ohio or in any other battleground state, there is a non-stop media barrage of ads which makes it even harder to ignore.

Whether you are a Obama or Romney supporter or still uncertain, you have to admit that this Presidential election cycle has degenerated into the ultimate ” I Gotcha” politics. Obama is for government “redistribution” and “you didn’t build that”; Romney thinks “47%” gladly live off the government or for destroying jobs because he worked for Bain Capital. I always find this ridiculous, because what a Presidential candidate “says” even in unguarded moments caught on a cellphone is never a very good indication of what he will “do” in office. And unfortunately for everyone, there has been all too little talk about what to “do” about the Economic Armageddon issues we face in the US today, notably our huge debt and deficits, our abhorrent monetary policy, our absurd tax code, and of course, our dim long-run economic future.

So in the spirit of the general triviality of this election, where “I Gotcha” is taking center stage, I present my classic rock lyrical version of the this year’s elections:

“The taxman’s taken all my dough and left me in my stately home….”

“Talk about a dream, try to make it real, you wake up in the night with a fear so real.”