The reasons politicians can’t work together and make tough decisions are plentiful. Distrust, suspicion and paranoia are a few of the emotions that get in the way of progress.
All of those elements were front and center in Orson Swindle III’s Sunday guest opinion (“Wake Up, America”) in the Brainerd Dispatch.
Swindle states a vote for President Barack Obama would be a vote “to abandon our history, our heritage, our character, our obligations and our future.”
Making his case on the presidential election even more personal he worries about the prospects for his grandchildren if the president is re-elected.
“I consider a vote for Obama an extremely abusive act toward those little girls, one that I will not take lightly,” he wrote.
Wow.
Swindle’s overwrought column was a tour de force of political outrage. My guess is his feelings were sincere and he felt better after he wrote it. The problem is the rest of us have to live and work in the fractious political world that his words help create.
His passion apparently blinds him to self-evident truths as he ignores significant and widespread international contributions that were made by the world’s governments after the 2004 tsunami. On that topic Swindle writes: “We, unlike any other nation have come to the aid of those suffering in natural disasters.”
No matter which presidential candidate wins the Nov. 6 election, the sun will come up the next day. This nation has survived good, bad and mediocre presidents. With its system of checks and balances, those presidents who grasp for more power than they should have, soon feel a push-back from Congress, the Supreme Court and the people.
Also, the dirty little secret presidential candidates never admit to is that, once elected, they’re often the victims of circumstances outside of their control. The lucky ones catch a break on fuel prices, wars, administration scandals. The unlucky ones we call one-term presidents.
Options are often limited on the big decisions a president makes. That’s why, despite significant political differences, there are a host of similarities found in the actions of George W. Bush and Barack Obama in the conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and in the economic recovery from the Recession.
Swindle has served his country as a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and a prisoner of war. He has every right to voice his opinion. It’s just that his destructive approach does nothing to help the men and women we elect roll up their sleeves and face up to the serious problems before us.
There are plenty of areas where Obama’s policies deserve criticism. The same is true of his opponent. Both candidates demonstrate their desire to be elected is stronger than their desire to be candid with the American public. Still, Obama and Mitt Romney both are eager to implement polices which they feel will help this country and Swindle fails to grant that basic assumption to the president.
Swindle doesn’t just disagree with the president, he demonizes him. And when politicians or commentators demonize their opponent it makes compromise and constructive solutions almost impossible.
Wake up, Orson. There’s much work to do and over-the-top venting doesn’t move us closer to the solutions.
Mike O’Rourke, associate editor, may be reached at 855-5860 or mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com. He may be followed at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.
Comments (56)
Add commentOn a website shaking you down for Obama donations. Lol
Did O'Rourke write this one too?
why aren't all the LTTE on line?
I'm reading one in the Dispatch today from a Jon Strand in Nisswa critiquing the movie 2016. It's a very good letter.
Why is that not on-line?
"Seeing the nearly full page opinion piece in the Brainerd Dispatch I was curious enough to read it. I soon realized the movie was a right wing production when I saw it was based on a book by Dinesh D'Souza. or "Distort the News" as he's otherwise known."
Love the ad there, johnny
Obama-Biden 2012
Just learned that Romney has a home in San Diego. Let's see, that makes about five. Yes, he can relate to us. He probably does think property taxes are too high, too.
So mars, does that mean
that the true facts (I did research most of them) in the movie don't exist? I suppose you admire Frank Marshal Davis also?
No but you
sure seem to be stalking me. You'd better hope nothing weird happens in my neighborhood or the cops may be knocking on your door.
And it was fact and you libs hate that you can't make it go away anymore than Obama can make his coverup of the Libyan murder fiasco go away!
You lefties will believe what you believe...
...but I've yet to see anything but vague criticisms of 2016's lack of "truthiness". How about a specific criticism of a specific claim? Or is that too much to ask?
And I think it's worth taking Swindle's concerns about the commie path our country is on. After all, he did spend nearly seven years of his life living under a communist regime. I think he probably has more real world experience with it than even some of the card carrying CPUSA members that post on this forum regularly.
muehlbau,
eyolf and his ilk don't have time to be specific. Vague anecdotes that change with the mood are his modis operendi and lies lurk in his darker moments. 2016 states only facts or Obama would have never let it show. If he wins in November he may never let it show again as part of the "New Communist American Government" rules.
HOW ABOUT IT LIBS? 2016 must be true or the Justice Department would have it's producers in court already.
Come and get us, commies!
Hey nursepat1
I've read a few of you're posts and you are RIGHT (jb captitals to express raised voice). I don't understand how anybody with a brain could vote for Teflon (B.H.O.).But we hear everything Romney ever did wrong his whole life.
Took a picture of O'Rourke leaving his office
Tweet ... tweet
Rebublicans win in this propaganda film contest
The right wing garbage in the film Obama 2016 out trashes the left wing garbage in the film Gasland.
Both parties lie and exaggerate. Republicans win by a nose in this one.
Eyolf, rolf,
Eyolf, rolf, I know there were many that think Hillary would have been worse than Obama but I say "how could all those demos vote for someone that they knew nothing about?" We all KNEW something about Hillary's background like it or not. Again I say now that there is Obama's background is out in the open, how can you refute what has been said in his own words? Oh that's right. You forgot to see it cause it was just propaganda. Wow! I don't worship Romney or any political person. But I do believe there ARE many Demos that are blind in their yellow brick road following of Obama. Even the almighty OZ was a fake! Romney is and always has been an open book.
RIP
We missed you, Mr. O'Rourke
Regret you could not join me on Guy Green's discussion last evening, especially since you had taken such a dislike to my comments. We could have had a lot of fun, Mike, both expressing our views, the old fashion way. Virtually every paragraph in your editorial had factual errors or misinformation, but from comments of others commenting, this may be normal on your part.
Obama's ideas and wishes have been tried and tried. They have failed everytime, and we cannot afford that failure in our Country, the last best hope for mankind.
Best wishes, and we did miss you.
Orson
OrsonIII
THANK-YOU SIR!!! That was a very good article you wrote. 6 1/2 yrs as a POW. How did you handle that?
Orson knows evil when he sees it
From listening to Orson on the Speakeasy last night I get the understanding that he knows evil when he sees it. Little Mikey hasn't a clue about what real evil looks like because he has never believed that evil exists outside of the Reagan and Bush admin's. Well Mikey, evil is already on our soil, it's in the White House, the state dept., the U.S. House, the senate, Fort Hood not long ago and many institutions of higher learning not to mention enclaves of American Muslim Brotherhoods in Dearborn Mich., N.E. Mpls. and St Cloud. A few of you besides little Mikey should sleep with one eye open because when the "Brotherhood" makes their final march through us, you and all of us will be either enslaved, jailed, killed, quartered or all of the above, they don't tolerate non muslims very well. Don't forget this latest attack in Libya happened under the watchful eyes of Huma Abedin, Hillarys right hand gal...of muslim blood.
The administration, the mainstream news media and all the leftist pundits preached to us about how it was the fault of some movie clip. Wake up Mikey, your current leader wishes for all of us including you to be apologizing for something we didn't do or cause, why are you defending him and his Brotherhood buddies?
Ey
Just for your record keeping,I was for Romney in 2008.
Anyone - what is the latest with today's job report?
One state didn't report their numbers - just a small state named CA. How can that happen and why wasn't that brought out this morning when they released the numbers.
Obama is no leader, and is still blaming anyone for the Libya
attack and deaths of four americans. Lies, cover-ups,
stonewalling . Hillary is going to have to be tossed under the bus.
Actually, they think womens birth control and big bird is more important.
Thank you Mr Swindle!
You are a great American. You served your country with honor. You hit the nail right on the head with your letter. America cannot withstand another 4 years of Obama. Not only is Obama's past littered with anti-Americanism (Rev Wright, Tony Rezko, Blago, William Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, Louis Farrahkan, etc...) but so has his administration (Van Jones, Anita Dunn, Huma Abedin, Fast and Furious, etc...). 2016 shed some light on this "president" who even the most ardent liberal doesn't know a thing about (The first thing he did was seal all his records). Thank you for your service sir-Shannon Manary-Crosby,MN
Clinton was a cake walk
This current administration makes Bill Clinton and his cronies look like a clean operation, he just had a penchant for interns and cigars, can't fault him to much for that:) The anti-American and anti-Christian antics that this pretender-in-chief has been a part of will be looked back on as a very destructive time in our history. Not next month or next year, but years from now when we are still cleaning up messes here and abroad that the Chicago Kid and his ilk made. It all could have been nipped in the bud, instead, this bunch either kicked the can down the road or poured gas on the fire, not to mention a few of the fires they started themselves. Even JFK would have gotten out a can or two of whoopass to keep things from boiling over and building multiple generations of dependents here. This bunch of Columbia University (smarter than tho) liberty stealing pirates has got to go!
Thank you Mike O'Rourke
I belatedly read your Wake Up Orson column and agree 100%. ( And I don't usually agree 100% with anybody!). Swindle's overwrought, histrionic approach to our current political situation destroys what should be a thoughtful discussion of complex policy issues. . I see his black and white approach mirrored in a number of the comments on this page. How sad. Too many people just want to yell, scream and point fingers rather than spend the time and effort to deal with facts and what is often a very "gray" area in which difficult decisions must be made. Mike, you are one of the few thoughtful voices of sane, well articulated discussion. Thank you for your efforts although it seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Yep, black and white
That's right Basil, black and white, that's part of the picture, the white Christians are evil in the eyes of this pretender-in-chief. He has looked the other way and made excuses when the white Christians are killed, Fort Hood and the latest attack on our embassy just to name a few. He was supposed to be the great uniter, he's the GREAT DIVIDER! He's about pampering and promoting the Muslim Brotherhood, and kicking the crap out of silent Christians. I have hope and change in mind Basil... I HOPE we can save what's left of the republic and take a path away from a fiscal cliff, CHANGE to a government hands off economy and hands off my health care.