CULLMAN —
The congressional budget stalemate Democrats and Republicans have created in this election year could have far-reaching consequences.
Congress’ leading nonpartisan budget analyst issued a stern warning this week that boosting taxes and slashing federal spending, both scheduled to interact in January, could start a recession and cost 2 million jobs by the end of 2013.
In the meantime, President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are hurling rocks at each other in pathetic attempts to gain voter approval. The strategy is backfiring.
Another report issued this week finds that Americans are paying little attention to the war in Afghanistan, even as deaths and injuries continue to mount. What that report from the Associated Press noted is that continued uncertainty over the domestic economy is high on the public’s agenda.
Is anyone of the campaign trail tuning in to what the public is thinking?
The candidates appear to be so consumed with gaining an imaginary advantage in the polls that they have abandoned what once stood as the main issue: the economy.
Everyone eventually chooses a political party’s candidate by election day, but in these complex times the idea of declaring loyalty to the Democratic or Republican banner is not appealing. Times are so uncertain, so troubling, that leadership is what Americans are seeking. Everyone seems to understand that outside of the candidates and their strategists.
The election, any election, should be based on leadership ability. While Obama and Romney dodge insults — and consequently, the issues — voters are becoming fed up with party politics. By November, no matter who wins, both political parties could be seriously damaged by the tone of this campaign.
For the sake of the public, the candidates should remember that leadership, which includes reason and compromise, is more important than standing frozen under a useless banner.
Editorials
Another recession or work together?
- Editorials
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Taking the lead in education
The once-heralded ‘No Child Left Behind” education initiative from the federal level has just about run out of gas.
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Moving into the future
Hundreds of local high school seniors are accepting their diplomas and preparing to turn the page in the next chapter of their lives.
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
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EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
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Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
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Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
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Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
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COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
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A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
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Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
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Taking the lead in education
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