TRULY One America

The invaluable Michael Barone points out that the shocks produced by the Obama/Democratic agenda have stunned the economy into immobility. People and businesses aren't investing their money; they're saving it, because no one knows what to expect next from an administration that is openly hostile to private enterprise and productivity.

Fred Barnes is calling for Republicans to embrace the Ryan Roadmap, notwithstanding the potential political risks in doing so. There's merit to that argument, given the near-certainty that -- as soon as Republicans take the House, Senate or both -- the President, backed by the MSM, will be pushing them to back a tax-raising agenda or else risk being blamed for the economy's continued failure. At least going on record supporting the Ryan approach would provide the GOP with a principled rationale for refusing to sign on to Obama's economy-crushing agenda.

Above all, however, Republicans should take a moment to try to educate the public about the problems that Barone has identified, and do it by emphasizing that when it comes to the economy, there truly is only one America.

It's time for Republicans to criticize the President's attempts to divide us by income, setting some against others and attempting to pit everyone against American business. When the rich come under economic threat, they stop spending. Whom, exactly, does that hurt? Well, it hurts the people they would hire and the businesses they would otherwise patronize. When businesses come under threat, they stop hiring. Whom does

that hurt? The people who therefore can't get jobs.

Back in 2004, Barack Obama insisted soothingly that there was more that united than divided us. Now, it's the Republicans' task to show how far the President has strayed from the principled he outlined then, and to help the country understand that all of us -- rich, poor and in-between -- rise and fall together when it comes to our national prosperity.