Election lessons

Did your choice in the presidential election lose? Many were surprised by the result. It was not such a big surprise for me.   Aside from the usual issues — that Hispanics voted heavily for Obama; that the president was able to reprise his 2008 get out the vote effort; and the perception, right or wrong, that Obama cared more about people than Romney — there were some things that resonated, as I listened to and read about reactions.

1. There is a reason the Founding Fathers separated church and state. The more that religions — whether the fundamentalist right or the liberal left — get involved, the more politics and government become about religion and not about governing and democracy. In other words, if you think religion should be a central theme of government, consider countries where the ayatollahs run the show and then reevaluate the idea.
2. With a few exceptions, the people who seem to be against abortion are men, i.e. people who never have to carry children to term and then, assuming a single mother, care for them for 20 years. It seems fair to let a woman make her own choice, and if she chooses not to abort because of religious beliefs, that’s fine. If she chooses to abort because she thinks that’s a better choice than raising an unwanted child, it’s probably not any of my business.
3. Governor Romney won the exit polls regarding leadership, vision and ability. He lost by a wide margin when it came to public perception about caring and, I suspect, the fact that most citizens now believe it’s a horrible idea to have an unwanted child and that women should have the right to govern their own bodies. In a sense, the governor may have unfairly been given the mantle of other Republicans running for office, notably in Missouri and Iowa, who made bizarre out-of-the-norm comments.
4. Finally, the governor kept saying “When I’m president…,” which may not, when running for office, be a good idea, counting chickens before they are hatched. (Besides, Barron’s predicted a Romney win, and as good as the weekly is about investing, its political prognostications of late seem pretty much off the mark.)  

Politicians are good at reinvention, so maybe they will move away from the hardened positions of the right and left and focus on working together to govern and deal with the myriad problems our country faces.       

Have a wonderful week and may we agree on this idea: let’s get on with working for the good of our wonderful country, okay? 

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