My hope is better than yours.

Obama is waiting. For what? To counter Romney’s assertion that under the supreme court ruling Obama misled Americans, when he said that Obama Care would not raise taxes on the middle class. Obama will insist that his position is still true.  And even if he did truth stretch a little, he is forgiven because he is a politician and that is what we have come to expect from that specious species. 

However, Obama Care changes many of the tax regulations, (enumerated in my blog of July 6, 2012) but it is a stretch for the republicans to prove Obama Care raises taxes on the middle class. The middle class escapes virtually  untouched. Further, it is a waste of conservative intellectual effort to argue against Obama on this tax issue, particularly when Romney, as a Governor, is vulnerable himself.

And contrary to conventional wisdom, the election is not about the economy.  The election is about hope. Who brings it? Who sells it? Whose hope is better than the other? After we beat up Obama Care, the election will succumb to the issue of hope. It is a seductive spirit, lacks genuine accountability, lacks measurement and is the single spirit that Pandora did not let out of the box. I know, I wrote a novel about it.

Obama Care will become a non-issue soon after the debates begin. Obama will proffer that the health care act is not perfect, but it has some positives, which it has; Romney will be asked to proffer an alternative plan, which he has not. And if he did, it would no doubt be easy rebuttal material.  It has taken two years to get a minimal understanding of Obama Care so it is unlikely anyone could explain a Romney alternative plan in a series of  60 minute televised debates.

With the economy flat and no huge change looming on the horizon, the republicans have a problem. They have no basis for winning. They offer no alternative programs that clearly distinguish them from the democrats. Both sides sell hope. But it is not enough to ask Americans to purchase Romney’s hope in deference to Obama’s hope, solely on the basis of faith. Romney needs to appeal to a higher goal for America. Cure cancer. Feed the homeless. Oil independence. Ask Newt, he has some large ideas.

For me, I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.