This past week, investors experienced a sizable economic tremor as Wall Street's fortress shook. From a Dow that dropped more than 200 points in the first 10 minutes of trading to the Federal Reserve's biggest "emergency" slash of interest rates in a quarter of a century, even the experts are confused as to whether these are signs of an unhealthy economy or birth pains of an American recession.
Just as fluctuating and fickle is this presidential election. With political surges, primary bypasses, midstream startups and blended politics, there are still no clear front-runners in either party. Super Tuesday is on the horizon, and most people still are speculating about who is leading the pack.
Speaking of presidential ebbs and flows, I believe many are suffering now from a type of presidential buyer's remorse. On the one hand, I commend those who stuck their necks out early on in favor of a candidate's platform, values or principles over another's. (There are still far too many who wait in hiding for a clear leader out of fear of being aligned with a loser.) On the other hand, I'm sure many are now silently sorry that they've backed certain presidential hopefuls because of new revelations or reactions on the campaign trail.
The bases for political remorse are varied:
-- Realizing that all the Democratic candidates would raise taxes, expand big government oversight and waste, and increase national security risks by reducing roles of the military.
-- Discovering Rudy Giuliani wouldn't start his primary political engine until Florida, ignoring early and minor states and so sending a noncommittal and undervaluing message to Middle America.
-- Awakening to the reality that Mitt Romney has and will flip-flop on issues more than International House of Pancakes turns pancakes.
-- Learning, as David Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan noted this week, that John McCain is respectfully not a full-fledged conservative.
Of course, it's never too late to change your mind before casting your actual vote. But then again, pride is often a formidable foe to overcome on the way to the booth.
When I backed Mike Huckabee for president, I didn't do so because he was a front-runner, could beat Hillary, had lots of money, or because his presidency would advance my humanitarian efforts or increase my pocketbook. I endorsed him because I agree with his platform, trust in his integrity, relate with his poor upbringing and support for average citizens, value his 11 years of service as governor of Arkansas, and believe in his vision for a better America.
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