Palin looks like she will give it to him, but should Obama take it?

The second term of most presidents hasn’t been good. Nixon was run out of Office. Clinton was impeached. Reagan was stained by Iran-Contra. Even Johnson was worn down by the mistakes of VietNam and the disintegration of unity here at home in the late 1960’s. Having served part of Kennedy’s term and all of one of his own, Johnson shocked everyone and decided not to run again. It was probably a good thing. It likely rescued the good he did do with things like Civil Rights legislation. If he hadn’t quit when he did, his face would be superimposed over the picture of helicopters cutting and running from the American Embassy in Saigon.

Recently, I noted that the real impact of ex-Governor Palin’s media bubble is more likely to be the rescue of President Obama’s bid for a second term than anything else. (Well … except for building a sizable bank account for ex-Governor Palin.) I’ve started to wonder if a second term for Obama would even be a good thing. I haven’t lost faith with Obama. Far from it, he’s doing the kind of things America needs as fast as the quicksand and jungle of past mistakes will let him. It’s the country I don’t trust to do the right thing. He will probably be able to win, but he probably won’t be able to build a governing majority in Congress. Obama has one of the best minds of any President – ever. I think he sees things as clearly as they can be seen. It’s reasonable to think that if we’re hitting a wall, he would see it too. I think he does.

A couple of days ago in his Thanksgiving address, President Obama admitted that a lot of people have a lot of fear now. People are starting to think that they have little chance of ever succeeding. Millions of Americans now only see “difficult economic times” instead of a better future.

“Many are wondering if the dream of a middle class life – that American Dream – is slipping away.”

Yes … And I’m one of them.

In their own Thanksgiving address, Republicans, represented by a congressman from Indiana, only offered up up the same easy answers and false promises that they have for many decades:  The answer is to let the economy run wild and enough will trickle down to you. The businessmen who got you into the Bush Depression will do the right thing … next time. No sacrifice is necessary. Even though America only has five percent of the world’s population, you deserve to consume a quarter of the energy - in spite of the fact that your manufacturing and technology leadership are a thing of the past.

Like a suburban couple who just bought a house that an income twice as big as theirs wouldn’t be able to pay for, Americans may be looking stark reality in the face soon. As much as we need someone like Obama, I actually wouldn’t blame him if he took the “Lyndon Johnson exit”.