Day93 Tuesday 11/30/10

ran 0.0 miles
Today marks a bitter-sweet mile marker in this campaign. I have been running for exactly three months, all ninety-two days of it, until now. I am very proud of that and I am extremely grateful for everyone who has motivated me and followed this pebble of opinion for the last quarter of a year. Unfortunately, I have injured my left calf muscle to a point that demands rest for at least a few days. I am going to see a doctor early next week to see what the problem is and hopefully it will be nothing too drastic.

Case in point, the miles I am not running while my leg heals I will make manifest through working harder on these blog posts and keeping current events and facts about America and its vast history flowing.

Just as a government has unforeseeable crises appear from out of nowhere, it is still that government's obligation to reach the goals it has set for itself and for the rest of America. With that being said, however minor or severe my injury turns out to be, I am going to persevere toward my goal regardless of how much catch-up it requires.

1,832.3 miles to go.

Day92 Monday 11/29/10

ran 2.7 miles
Here are a few facts you may not know. They go together as well as a peanut butter, turkey and anchovy sandwich, but they are equally stimulating to a curious palate. Hope you’re hungry for a bite of what America once was and could possibly be again with a side of what it is not and may never be again.

Theodore Roosevelt’s expectations of immigrants and what it means to be an American citizen, as he stated in 1907:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…there can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag…we have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Ever heard of the “Transaction Tax”? Here is a video of Nancy Pelosi advocating this tax, which she views as a great idea. She proposes placing a 1% tax on literally all transactions. Whether you fill your vehicle with three gallons of gas from a local gas station, pull twenty dollars out of your nearest ATM or purchase a $300,000.00 house, if this tax ever became a reality the government would get 1% every single time you made a purchase. Pelosi defines the tax as a nearly unnoticeable percentage of money that would fill the governments “Tills” with revenue to create jobs and to pay off national debt.

This is the exact presumptuous, pompous and arrogant line of thinking that sparked the American Revolution. We fought for Independence because of Britain’s exorbitant demands of taxation, in which the King got fatter and the people in the colonies received nothing in return.

And lastly, a couple of quotes that reinforce the reality of Barack Obama’s ideas:

“The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

Margaret Thatcher

And from an anonymous mind, “Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don’t have to prove they are citizens.”

1,832.3 miles to go.

Day91 Sunday 11/28/10

ran 2.1 miles
Today completes week thirteen. Nearly three months in and I am grateful to say my biggest problem is a chronic, minor soreness in my left calf muscle that is reluctant to go away. I can put ice on that every few days and that small pain takes nothing away from the larger picture I am after. Running and blogging against Barack Obama gives me a sense of peace and allows me to sleep better at night because, ultimately, a leader like Obama smothers and suppresses my interpretation of what America is meant to be.

When you view this country as a limitless ideal in which anything can be done, it is absolutely frustrating to see radical liberal ideas implemented, as they appear in the light. Where I feel the great chasm between conservative and liberal ideas reaches its greatest depth is in the voting base at large of each side. And, unfortunately, this separation and difference of political beliefs could be a lengthy civil war of ideas, which will block any real progress for a nation divided. The greater number of American voters who do not cower away from hard work and take pride in saving or spending the money they worked hard to earn as they see fit I would call conservatives. And those who see no merit in what so many of these others hold to be self-evident as the American way I would call liberals. It is no prejudice to state that, statistically, the immense middle class and small business structure working hard across the American landscape is a crucial gear in America’s economy and culture and that they do not tend to vote for liberal ideas. You may interpret for yourself what that says about the immense amount of others that do vote for such ideas.

I have run 245.0 miles, averaging 2.69 miles per day.

1,835.0 miles to go.

Day90 Saturday 11/27/10

ran 1.8 miles

• In an article from The Associated Press, discussing Barack Obama’s recent indulgence in foreign affairs versus the domestic interests of Americans, it is interesting how the recent spike of involvement on the foreign policy front is stampeding through the important matters at home, after an election that saw international topics as unworthy for discussion or campaigning. Furthermore, Obama spent only three days abroad (Czech Republic and Afghanistan in April) in the last year leading up to his parties “Shellacking” on November 2. I cannot say whether or not he has compensated for his yearlong lack of foreign diplomacy since the globetrotting began after the Midterm Elections, but he has certainly made up for the taxpayer money he did not spend last year on his extravagant trip to India.

• Sarah Palin, while being interviewed by Glenn Beck on Wednesday, had a slip of the tongue as she made a response to Beck regarding our South Korea ally when she stated, “…Our North Korea ally.” Beck quickly corrected her and she explained her verbal slip. The media, however, made headlines out of it with the intent to ridicule her. Palin criticized the media via Facebook and pointed out ten gaffes Barack Obama had, which the media did not see fit to report on front pages, once again pointing out the biased approach to reporting news that has sensationalized this country with misgivings. Among our heralded president’s slips were such follies as “My fellow Americans in all 57 states,” “The time has changed for come,” “We know that countries like Europe,” and “ The reforms we seek will bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system”. If you don’t remember hearing about these it is because, for the most part, the media did not deem them newsworthy.

The road to 2012 will be getting in gear soon. Some very critical decisions need to be made immediately among democrats and republicans, which will be foretelling of what Barack Obama’s real interpretation of November 2 was and what his reaction to America’s disappointment in his decisions over the past two years is.

Presidential candidates will be announcing their nominations before we know it. The names everyone seems to be talking about at this point are Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee. Palin has received the most press recently after an interview with Barbara Walters in which she stated she was confident she could beat Barack Obama in a presidential race. Do you think Sarah Palin has what it takes to dethrone Barack Obama? Would you vote for her?

1,837.1 miles to go.

Day89 Friday 11/26/10

ran 2.6 miles

• Georgia was the fourth state to join the union on January 2, 1788, seven days before Connecticut and one year after New Jersey.

• Population, as of 2009, is 9,829,211.

• Senators are Saxby Chambliss (R) and Johnny Isakson (R).

• Representatives are Jack Kingston (R), Sanford Bishop (R), Lynn Westmoreland (R), Henry Johnson (D), John Lewis (D), Tom Price (R), John Linder (R), James Marshall (D), Tom Graves (R), Paul Broun (R), John Gingrey (R), John Barrow (D), and David Scott (D).

• Georgia has fifteen electoral votes. Historically, the state has participated in every presidential election excluding 1864, due to secession. From 1868 until 1960, Georgia has been exclusively democratic. In 1968, Georgia voted for Independent George Wallace. The state has been republican since, barring Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, and Bill Clinton in 1992.

I apologize for not keeping today’s post up with the current events of the day but I have nothing more to add tonight. My amazing and lovely wife and I bought our Christmas tree tonight and we are busy decorating and putting lights up. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a tolerable Black Friday.

1,838.9 miles to go.

Day88 Thursday 11/25/10

ran 2.6 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll shows that 28% of American voters strongly approve of President Obama’s performance and 42% strongly disapprove, giving Barack Obama an Approval Index rating of –14 compared to –17 on this day last week.

• Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of President Obama’s performance and 51% disapprove.

• Among American voters, 57% favor repeal of Health Care Law.

• Nationwide, 66% of voters favor a proposal to cut the federal payroll by 10% over the next decade. Only 22% oppose the proposal and 12% are not sure.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope everyone had a wonderful day spent with family. In the spirit of thanking God for everything we’ve been blessed with and sharing these blessings with family and friends, I’d like to thank you for reading and following this blog, and supporting my run against Barack Obama.

1,841.5 miles to go.

Day87 Wednesday 11/24/10

ran 3.1 miles
I ran the “Camellia Crossing” 5k tonight in Lafayette, Louisiana and finished with a satisfactory time worthy of thanking Barack Obama for the inspiration to run so furiously against him. It has been less than three months since I started this campaign against Barack Obama’s reelection and I have improved my running time of 3.1 miles by over six minutes. If national debt and American principles were approached in the same manner as the 1200-plus people that ran tonight approached the idea of self-preservation, the goal to succeed, and the unmistakable tenacity to achieve something with no reward except for what they felt inwardly when they crossed the finish line, this country would rediscover itself as the amazing nation it has the potential to be when politicians with radical agendas are not in office attempting to redefine America by whittling it down to a common nation.

America is not common. America works hard to fulfill the great expectations our forefathers projected upon us. America is people and not politicians. Barack Obama does not like the appearance of America’s elitist swagger and would like to level the international playing field. If you feel sorry for being American then you are reading the wrong blog.

My impression of Barack Obama’s first two years is riddled with images and articles of our president behaving in an unexplainably apologetic manner with every foreign leader he visits. He compulsively blames like a spoiled child and then seeks solutions to our problems by printing monopoly money that has served no real purpose other than to further empower China, the next potential world leader, through borrowing. China, committed to communism, could be the twenty-first century template to America’s future if our government continues to not produce results.

In closing, here are a few quotes from some well-known runners.

“If you don’t invest very much, then defeat doesn’t hurt very much and winning is not very exciting.”

Dick Vermeil

“The greatest pleasure in life is doing the things people say we cannot do.”

Walter Bagehot

“What counts in the battle is what you do once the pain sets in.”

John Short

1,844.1 miles to go.

Day86 Tuesday 11/23/10

ran 2.6 miles
On this day in 1749, Edward Rutledge, one of South Carolina’s representatives to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, was born in Charleston. He made a name for himself in American history by being the youngest and one of the boldest signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Going against the grain of the majority of his Congressional cohorts, Rutledge was reluctant to declare independence. In a letter to John Jay, one of New York’s representatives who shared a reticence in rushing into the declaration, Rutledge was concerned whether moderates like himself and Jay could effectually oppose a resolution for independence.

Edward’s brother John preceded him serving as a South Carolina Representative. As the Revolution steamed to a boil among the colonies, it fell on Edward, who was not eager to sever ties with Great Britain, to sign the Declaration of Independence, at age twenty-six, to push the message of unanimity and to bolster the Patriot’s stand.

Having signed the document, Edward Rutledge was the youngest American to risk his life by signing the Declaration of Independence.

It takes a lot of courage and humility to compromise your own beliefs or to sway even a few degrees for the good of a greater picture. I foresee many democrats crossing the aisle for open-minded discussions with republicans over the next two years. It is a shame more did not take the initiative to do this during the first two years of Obama’s presidency. If many had not convicted their decisions to the general belief in liberalism, and instead worked toward an itemized solution to the problems Americans face, many democratic Senators and Representatives would possibly still have their jobs. Their blind commitment to principal and lack of realizing the human element is what separates the men and women who lost their seats on November 2 from men and women like Edward Rutledge who have the sensitivity to make big decisions on behalf of the people they represent and not in the name of their egos or legacies.

1,847.2 miles to go.

Day85 Monday 11/22/10

ran 2.6 miles

Here’s some interesting news you may not have heard about. Today, a thirteen-year-old American boy campaigning to transform the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea into a park that would signify peace attempted to get the Chinese president’s attention. He began a brief protest near Tiananmen Square before swiftly being led away by Chinese police.

The young American, Jonathan Lee, unrolled a sign saying “Peace Treaty” and “Nuclear free DMZ children’s peace forest” as he stood at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Tiananmen Square was the sight of a student-led pro-democracy movement in 1989, in which hundreds of protesters were killed.

Right now you are probably wondering why and how a thirteen-year-old American boy was in Beijing, China at Tiananmen Square. Apparently, his mother allowed and aided in his protest by informing and planting journalists nearby to witness the Chinese reaction to their son’s message. Within one single minute the boy was escorted away by a plainclothes police officer. The police officer grabbed the boy’s sign and waved away the reporters as four uniformed police officers sped to remove the boy’s mother away from the site with as little commotion as possible.

Police held the two for a few hours before releasing them to their hotel where they met with the boy's father and sister. Soon after, the four headed to the Beijing airport, unescorted, and caught a flight with Korean Airlines to Seoul. The family’s treatment by Chinese authorities was mild compared to the more common rough handling and instant deportations of other foreigners who have protested in China in the past.

The boy, from Ridgeland, Mississippi, is trying to persuade the leaders of North and South Korea, China, and the United States to work together to reunify the two Koreas. His father, Korean-born Kyoung Lee, claims that his son has sent letters to President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, but was unable to send a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao. This is the reason they felt the brief protest in Tiananmen Square was necessary. In August, young Jonathan Lee made a visit to North Korea to propose his idea of a children’s peace forest to Kim Jong Il. The best result he could get was an assurance by North Korean officials that they would give Kim Jong Il his letter.

That is one of the most bizarre stories I’ve read in a while; such a young boy protesting such a huge issue, parents who are willing enough (or perhaps crazy enough) to put their son at the site where hundreds of other young demonstrators were killed not so long ago for protesting their own government, and traveling to North Korea with the hopes of communicating with Kim Jong Il. Absolutely bizarre!

Aside from how unbelievable this young boy and his story is, and how dangerously driven his parents are to see him succeed regardless of how unsafe his circumstances become, Tiananmen Square and what happened there in 1989 stand as atrocious examples of what governments are capable of when they refuse freedom and the ideas of the people it governs. The Chinese students who died during that protest at the hands of their own government live on, at least in my mind, as a reminder of how blessed we are to be citizens of America and how important it is to never even glance, as a nation, at the slightest possibilities of communism, not even the socializing of health care or other major industries.

1,849.8 miles to go.

Day84 Sunday 11/21/10

ran 2.6 miles
Today ends the twelfth week of running against Obama. I have run 227.6 miles, averaging 2.71 miles per day. Nearing the three-month mark of this endeavor, or protest, against the direction our president is leading our country, it is motivating to crunch the numbers spanning this goal and to be almost one-eighth of the way closer to voting Barack Obama out of office in 2012.

I think we all realize, regardless of what side of the aisle we sit on, that America’s future has reached a point more pivotal than in any recent presidential election. Barack Obama has spoken clear and loud volumes of what his intentions for America are in only two years. Now, he will let out some slack and win back the hearts of voters he lost, campaigning for a second term. It is a shame how short-termed our memories are and how easily swayed our ever-present sensibilities are.

When I look at what Barack Obama has done in his first two years, I view his actions as misdirected and unexplainably un-American. And although he fully believes in the decisions he’s made, he will attempt to tread in the aisle over the next two years to manipulate the nation for a second term. And should he succeed…

1,852.4 miles to go.

Day83 Saturday 11/20/10

ran 3.1 miles

• President Obama officially said today, for the first time, that he wants U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. This approximate time is when he and NATO leaders will move the Afghan military into the lead role of fighting the Taliban.

“My goal is to make sure that by 2014 we have transitioned, Afghans are in the lead and it is a goal to make sure that we are not still engaged in combat operations of the sort we’re involved in now,” Obama said in a news conference at the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

So the question is, will the Afghan army be capable of continuing to suppress the Taliban without the help of America are will the insurgencies prevail and turn Afghanistan into a fully chaotic, uncivilized state with the primary objective of training terrorists and planning acts of terrorism? It is a curious act to give your enemy the date when you plan on leaving their country to stop fighting them. Things in Afghanistan will more than likely quiet down and appear to get better over the next two years. But the Taliban has a “Save the date” card sitting on the rocky mantles of their caves, which we sent them.

• President Obama has been globetrotting since the Mid-term elections and holding foreign affairs as a far greater priority than the domestic gridlock of decisions that America needs to start defining as soon as possible. The GOP has criticized most of the issues Obama has been taking on during this lame-duck session, arguing that extending the Bush-era tax cuts should be the top priority.

It stands to Obama’s advantage to reach important decisions on views he deems to be critical in Congress during the lame-duck session because all of the Republicans who were voted in on November 2 have no vote on these issues and all Democrats who were voted out are still in power until the session ends.

• Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and eight other Republican senators who were elected on November 2 composed a letter last week to President Obama requesting a delay in signing the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty until they were sworn into office. The ten Republican senators are backing Arizona Senator Jon Kyl’s demand for a delay due to the fact that no arms pacts with Russia have ever been ratified under a lame-duck Congress.

As usual in politics, allowing the newly elected senators a vote on this important issue would be far too logical, rational and fair, considering they are the voices America just elected to represent them concerning important political issues. Instead, our president wants to cram everything he can into the lame-duck session he can. And most of what he is pushing are obviously issues he will have little confidence in passing once the newly elected officials are in place.

1,855 miles to go.

Day82 Friday 11/19/10

ran 2.7 miles

• Florida was the twenty-seventh state to join the union on March 3, 1845, nine months before Texas and eight years after Michigan.

• Population, as of 2009, is 18,537,969.

• Senators are Bill Nelson (D) and George S. LeMieux (R). Senator LeMieux did not run for reelection and Marco Rubio (R) will fill the seat once he is sworn in.

• Representatives are Jeff Miller (R), Allen Boyd (D), Corrine Brown (D), Ander Crenshaw (R), Virginia Brown-Waite (R), Clifford Stearns (R), John Mica (R), Alan Grayson (D), Gus Bilirakis (R), Bill Young (R), Kathy Castor (D), Adam Putnam (R), Vern Buchanan (R), Connie Mack (R), Bill Posey (R), Thomas Rooney (R), Kendrick Meek (D), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), Ted Deutch (D), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), Ron Klein (D), Alcee Hastings (D), Suzanne Kosmas (D), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R).

• Florida has twenty-seven electoral votes. Historically, the state has voted almost exclusively for Democrats from the Reconstruction period through the mid-twentieth century before becoming a primarily Republican state in 1952. A Democratic presidential candidate won the vote only in 1976, 1996 and 2008. Florida’s population has exploded in the last sixty years. During World War II, the state had only eight electoral votes and now they have twenty-seven, fourth most in the country. Florida has an extremely diverse population, virtually making it a microcosm of the entire United States, and is arguably the ultimate swing state.

Stepping away from facts about the state of Florida and moving on to a completely different topic, I was recently looking through a book I had read a couple years ago, Thomas More’s “Utopia”, first published in 1516, and thought it would be worth recommending. Pertaining to yesterday’s post, I had suggested that freedom and success in America were not so contingent on government as many people seem to believe. Weakness and reliance on government are what lube the gears of their machine.

In “Utopia”, More creates a civilization, which is obviously quite perfect as the name of the book suggests, but what makes it interesting is the fact that he wrote it in the sixteenth century, preceding Karl Marx and his communist ideas in the nineteenth century. “Utopia” is an interpretation of what life could be as viewed through a polished lens of concentrated common sense. But what makes it so interesting is that we naturally cannot escape our own human tendencies, such as greed, corruption, lust and war, among many other weaknesses that define our existence. This book forces you to question everything you think you know about the apparent rational world we live in.

While More was portraying a utopian existence, in which everything was perfect and completely unrealistic, almost in the form of a parody, Karl Marx, three hundred years later, transformed More’s comedy into a serious reality, which has been a cause for war and a source of oppression since “The Communist Manifesto” was printed in 1848.

In an attempt to make a point in comparing these two books, I look at More’s “Utopia” as liberal ideas that serve a great purpose as wishful, wistful hope in terms of “What if…”, but they deny the human element of being fallible and unpredictable. To take it a step further, I view Barack Obama as “The Communist Manifesto” naively attempting to make a reality of these unrealistic tenets. His ideas reek of socialism and our country has sacrificed tens of thousands of lives fighting the spread of socialist governments and policies for decades.

This is an excerpt from Thomas More’s introduction to “Utopia”, which sounds absolutely wonderful and fair but is completely unrealistic in the world we live in. It reminds me of Barack Obama’s campaign trail to the presidency, in which he promised completely unrealistic results that he is now paying a price for as he is unable to deliver the farfetched, farcical products he promoted.

“There is no house which does not have a door opening on the street and a back door into the garden;
Or the selection of candidates for ruler,
For each of the four quarters of the city names one person and proposes him to the senate;
Or the universal work at farming,
Farming is the one occupation in which all of them are skilled, men and women alike;
Or the color of their cloaks,
Throughout the island they are all of the same color, that of the natural wool;
Or the shifting of people to maintain uniform populations,
This limit is easily maintained by transferring persons from households with too many people to those with too few;
Or the distribution of goods,
And when it is distributed equitably to everyone, it follows that no one can be reduced to poverty or forced to beg;
Or the lack of seeking for offices,
Anyone who campaigns for public office becomes disqualified from holding any office at all;
Or their exclusion of lawyers,
They ban absolutely all lawyers as clever practitioners and sly interpreters of the law;
Or the recruitment of soldiers,
In each city they choose troops from a list of volunteers;
Or their strict keeping of a truce,
When they make a truce with their enemies, they keep it so religiously that they do not violate it even under provocation;
Or their withholding of honor and office from those who do not believe in the immortality of the soul, divine providence, and future rewards and punishment,
They bestow no honors on such a person, they assign him to no office, they put him in charge of no public responsibility…”

1,858.1 miles to go.

Day81 Thursday 11/18/10

ran 3.1 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll indicates that 25% of the nation’s voters strongly approve of Barack Obama’s performance as president and 42% strongly disapprove, giving President Obama an Approval Index rating of –17, compared to –20 on this day last week.

• Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance and 54% disapprove.

• Only 26% of voters, according to Rasmussen Reports, think the country is heading in the right direction.

• A new Rasmussen Reports survey shows that 58% of voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law and 37% oppose repeal. Also, 46% strongly favor repeal and 30% strongly oppose it.

Thinking back on the subjects I’ve been posting about lately, I feel that I have fallen somewhat victim to the mundane tendencies of routine and habit. It is so easy to slip while climbing a steep mountain. I have a passion for writing my own words and expressing original ideas, as opposed to reporting numbers and paraphrasing current news articles. So here is some raw, opinionated, unsubstantiated free thinking. It is still America, right?

For every three reasons this country is amazing there seems to be some one unexplainable thing that baffles the minds of Americans. In the larger picture, adversity is a good thing and it presents challenges for people to overcome. After all, if everything were perfect, I’m not sure that life would be such an exciting mystery worth pursuing without the challenge of problems and the reward of solutions.

Here is a philosophy everyone can understand, and the common denominator is common sense. Everything we know, whether an idea, something tangible, an emotion, an argument or anything else you can think of, has an equal and necessary opposite. For example, the only thing that allows a right hand to be a right hand is the simple fact that a left hand exists. You cannot have one without the other. To appreciate gain one must fully understand loss just as hot holds no definitive value without the opposite comparison of cold. What opposites offer us, as an inescapable circumstance of life, is a sense of balance, which is constantly shifting, much like our government, year by year. Along this same train of thought, wherever there are problems one will find solutions and wherever there are solutions one will find problems.

There are no absolutes or utopias. Perfection is for the afterlife. We are extremely fallible creatures. But to observe the ebb and flow of times and occurrences among our nation with the understanding that politics simply are what they are and that they will always only make 50% of the people happy, is what brings me to my point. It falls upon you. The prosperity and freedom of America falls on you, me and everyone else in this country. Our government cannot legislate happiness or human spirit. Rather than falling into the trap of obsessing over various news media and the “Story of the day” and talking about it at the water cooler the next day at work, it is important to realize that seizing your own personal goals, no matter how large or small, are the best defense against any power-happy government and the circus acts they perform.

That felt so much more refreshing than writing about George Soros’ advice to progressive donors that Obama’s cause might not be the best investment of money.

1,860.8 miles to go.

Day80 Wednesday 11/17/10

ran 3.2 miles
Sarah Palin has officially said she is seriously considering a run in the presidential race in 2012. In an interview conducted by Barbara Walters, which will air on December 9, Palin responded, “I believe so,” when asked by Walters if she could beat Barack Obama if she ran for president.

"I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here."

Rasmussen Reports surveyed likely GOP Primary voters and concluded that Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Sarah Palin of Alaska will be the most likely Republican candidates for 2012. All three weighed in evenly with nearly twenty percent of the votes cast through telephone polling.

One more interesting fact from Rasmussen Reports is that 52% of voters say their views are more like Palin’s than Obama’s.

It is far too early to speculate with any real gravity what will happen over the next two years or which conservatives will emerge as candidates. But what is extremely important right now is to monitor every decision Barack Obama makes and to see in the near future whether or not he intends to repeal some of the radical legislation that he has passed and if he will tone down his radical goals for the future. If he makes no gesture to establish a sense of compromise among his Republican counterparts or the majority of voters who put so many of them in office on November 2, then he is obviously out of touch with the reality before him and he presumably cares more about his own agenda and ego than the wishes of American voters.

1,863.9 miles to go.

Day79 Tuesday 11/16/10

ran 4.0 miles
On this day in 1776, Hessian Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen and 3,000 of his mercenaries alongside 5,000 Redcoats attacked Fort Washington, stationed at the highest point of Manhattan Island.

In a matter of hours, the garrison commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, surrendered. Nearly 3,000 Patriots were taken prisoner and a wealth of ammunition and supplies were seized. A large number of the prisoners died soon after the siege from deprivation and disease locked aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor.

Among the fifty-three dead and ninety-six wounded Patriots leading to the surrender were two individuals who will live forever in American history; John and Margaret Corbin of Virginia. When John died in action, his wife took over his cannon. She cleaned, loaded and fired her husband’s cannon until she was wounded to submission. Earning her place as the first known woman to have fought for the Continental Army, she survived but lost her left arm.

Fort Washington was erected at the current location of Bennet Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, near the George Washington Bridge, at the corner of Fort Washington Avenue and 183rd Street.

Back to the present, George Bush has emerged in the news lately after laying low for two years to promote a new book, his memoirs. I’ve watched some of his interviews recently and hearing him speak reminded me of the arguable failures and successes of his presidency. Bush’s terms had both strengths and weaknesses just like any other man’s character or any other president’s legacy. But his decisions and actions concerning September 11, I think, are what will be remembered most. He did what he had to do, which was make decisions that best protected Americans at a critical time. Now that so much time has passed, it is so easy and redundant to point out all of the things that went wrong, but the simple fact is that his post-9/11 measures, speculations and actions had to be done. This country was more united than it had been in decades. Everyday people were drawn to one another in a way we have not seen in a long time and even Washington came together and voted “Yes” for something to be done. Eventually, probably years beyond George Bush’s last breath, I think he will be regarded as a successful president who did the best job he could with the moxie he had to do what had to be done.

After reflecting on George Bush’s possible legacy and in what ways history will remember him, I can’t help but think what Barack Obama’s legacy and historical interpretation will be. He will be remembered for passing health care reform, which the overwhelming majority of American’s do not want. He will be regarded as the president that attempted to socialize major private sectors. He will be remembered for outrageous stimulus packages that served no purpose other than to warm up monopoly money presses. He will be remembered as a president who did not believe in American elitism. He will be the president in American history that apologized to the world for being American.

I could go on and on, but if you really think about it, unless Barack Obama corrects most of the decisions he’s made, which he likely won’t, can you imagine what his legacy and his record will look like.

In the most concise and brief terms I can think of as a thorough description of President Barack Obama, I would have to say he is an absolute savior and hero for thirty percent of America. Unfortunately for him, the other seventy percent that don’t need or want his policies or programs are keeping this country moving forward despite all of his efforts to stop us.

1,867.1 miles to go.

Day78 Monday 11/15/10

ran 3.2 miles
Here is something you may not know. USA Today printed an article, “One and done: To be a great president Obama should not seek reelection in 2012”, written by Douglas E. Schoen and Patrick H. Caddell, in which they portray a larger picture of America rebuilding itself and emboldening its future by positing that Barack Obama should take the initiative to choose not to run for reelection in 2012 for the greater good of this nation. In doing this, they suggest it would lead to a real sense of progress, unfettered by the wasted time of exerting energy and taxpayer money into a 2012 presidential election that would be monumentally pricey and time-consuming, leaving little room for any productivity.

“If the president goes down the reelection road, we are guaranteed two years of political gridlock at a time when we can ill afford it. But by explicitly saying he will be a one-term president, Obama can deliver on his central campaign promise of 2008, draining the poison from our culture of polarization and ending the resentment and division that have eroded our national identity and common purpose.”

Douglas E. Schoen has been an effective Democratic campaign consultant for over thirty years. His vast accomplishments include “Pollster of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for work on President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign. Patrick H. Caddell is a public opinion pollster who has worked with George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and Jerry Brown.

There is no way Barack Obama’s ego or political legacy would ever consent to such a winning option for America, but it is interesting to think about. Given our current state of affairs and the political gridlock that will ensue over the next two years, he would be considered a noble and humble hero in history books. But that’s not what he’s after. I think there are very few people who know what Barack Obama’s endgame is, but he does not appear to have a leader’s ability to retreat when a battle is hopeless, or the selflessness to admit he might have been wrong.

Here are a couple more quotes from the article:

“We do not come to this conclusion lightly. But it is clear, we believe, that the president has largely lost the consent of the governed. The midterm elections were effectively a referendum on the Obama presidency. And even if it was not an endorsement of a Republican vision for America, the drubbing the Democrats took was certainly a vote of no confidence in Obama and his party. The president has almost no credibility left with Republicans and little with independents.”

“The best way for him to address both our national challenges and the serious threats to his credibility and stature is to make clear that, for the next two years, he will focus exclusively on the problems we face as Americans, rather than the politics of the moment or of the 2012 campaign.”
Read the full story here.

1,871.1 miles to go.

Day77 Sunday 11/14/10

ran 2.4 miles
Eleven weeks in and I have run over 200 miles strictly motivated by a sense of urgency to contribute whatever little I can to make Barack Obama a one-term president. However small my presence or influence has been in the much larger arena of politics, it is enough for me at the end of each day just to know I can sleep easier and live stronger knowing I am involved and doing something more than remaining silent or speaking only behind closed doors.

As of today I have run 205.7 miles, averaging 2.67 miles per day. Running day after day has become easier and easier, but it still remains to be daunting at times. I am convinced, though, that nothing else in my thirty-two years has inspired and motivated me more to make a stand than the positions our current president has taken regarding our country.

In closing, I’d like to make an interesting point regarding the 2012 presidential election, which is still too far away to touch, yet is worth thinking about, as far as what candidates we are going to have to vote for, or against Obama with. If you know anything about Ronald Reagan it’s that he was a brilliant, effective president who communicated with and worked for the voters of America. He did not propagandize or pander to the desires of special interest groups or big government. He simply did what needed to be done with no wiggle room for excuses. If you don’t know anything about Ronald Reagan, look up his timeline and accomplishments as President of the Unites States of America, and you will see what progress a leader of this country is capable of.

The fact I would like to point out is that Ronald Reagan was a movie star, then a governor, and then President of this country. We certainly can’t all be movie stars, but Reagan showed that anybody worthy of moving this country forward could be president. I see a kindred spirit between Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin. It is uncertain whether she will run for president in 2012, but if she does it will be important to consider that sometimes the candidate who lacks experience and has not rotted in a career of politics could be just the agent needed to break America’s stagnant film on opportunity and strength. Many think Palin lacks experience in politics, especially being so distant from the lower forty-eight states, but I welcome her successes in Alaska and her distance from the disappointing reality of what the lower forty-eight states’ politics have been for so long.

We need something that works and Barack Obama is not it. I’m not necessarily advocating that Sarah Palin is the answer either, but she would be an exciting option, much like Ronald Reagan was. If she does run, she should not be overlooked for presumable inexperience because Reagan was inexperienced, politically, and he proved to be an absolutely fascinating, brave and successful president, at a very challenging time.

1,874.3 miles to go.

Day76 Saturday 11/13/10

ran 2.6 miles
Here is an interesting trivia question. What president placed “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust” the national motto? I’ll give you a small hint---he was a president from the twentieth century.

The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in September of 1892 by Francis Bellamy for “The Youth’s Campaign” magazine in Boston. The pledge was printed on leaflets and sent to schools across the United States.

“Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by President Eisenhower who claimed, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”

“In God We Trust” was first printed on a two-cent coin in 1864. These four words were taken off of and put back on certain coins over the next fifty years. “In God We Trust” has continuously been engraved on the one-cent coin since 1909, on the ten-cent coin since 1916, and appeared on gold coins, silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins since 1908.

On July 30, 1956, a law passed by the eighty-fourth Congress, approved by President Eisenhower, enacted a Joint Resolution declaring “In God We Trust” the national motto of the United States. The motto was first used on paper money in 1957.

1,876.7 miles to go.

Day75 Friday 11/12/10

ran 2.6 miles

• Delaware was the first state to join the union on December 7, 1787, only five days before Pennsylvania.

• Population, as of 2009, is 885,122.

• Delaware is the second smallest state next to Rhode Island.

• Senators are Thomas Carper (D) and Edward Kaufman (D).

• Representative is Michael Castle (R).

• Delaware holds three electoral votes and has participated in every single presidential election. The state has held three electoral votes throughout its history except for 1812 and 1820, when it contributed four electoral votes. Historically, Delaware has voted Republican through most of the twentieth century and, like many other northeastern states, they have voted Democratic in the last five presidential elections. Barack Obama garnered 62% of Delaware’s popular vote against John McCain in 2008.

Looking over facts and history about Delaware, realizing the importance of its status as the first state to join the union, the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, it is an exceptional namesake to have in American history. If you can imagine the circumstances of what thirteen American colonies were trying to do against the British Empire, with all odds against them, to sign the Declaration of Independence, which was an action punishable by death had America not gained its independence from England, and then to finally be victorious and to begin the knitting together of this nation, colony by colony, state by state, until it became the amazing nation we’ve known it to be since we were children, our parents were children, and all the way back, generation by generation, that helped forge and maintain the integrity of what this country is intended to be.

Imagine these thirteen colonies in 1787, discussing their futures and what they want to do with their newly earned freedom. The thirteen colonies joined the union in a rapid succession spanning only three years and many colonies joined within days of one another. But you can almost sense a feeling of trepidation, as though the individual colonies were thinking to themselves, “So what do we do now?” That is where Delaware came in, as a leader, and made the first move to get America rolling. It really is something to be proud of.

America fought for their independence from England primarily to end excessive taxation on the colonies. The circular path of history has once again made its loop right here to 2010. America’s economy has weakened, certainly not beyond redemption, but it has weakened to an alarming status. Today, at the G-20 summit, Barack Obama took some general press questions and made a response to one particular question that he intended to work with Republicans and Democrats to extend the Bush tax cuts for middle-class Americans but that he was adamant to end tax cuts for high-earning Americans. What that means is, if your household income is $250,000 or more you will be paying a lot more taxes, the upper-middle class will continue to tread in cold, murky waters of uncertainty, and lower-middle class and financially challenged individuals will continue to pay no taxes. Raising taxes on the wealthy is one of the most irrational, incomprehensible ideas anyone could possibly construe at an economic time like this.

“Who buys more products from small businesses and large corporations than anyone else?”

“Who sells you more products than anyone else?”

“Who donates money to charities, which support worthy causes and employ thousands?”

“Who invests sums of money that people like me cannot even begin to comprehend the value of into businesses and the general commerce that keeps America thriving?”

I could go on and on with these rhetorical questions, but the obvious conclusion is that wealthy Americans are responsible for all of these actions on a large scale. If a government over-taxes the wealthy, the wealthy will stop spending money and put their heads in their shells like turtles until spending money seems like a fair deal again at some indefinite point in the future. It is a trickle down effect that only hurts everyone else except the wealthy. It is the worst possible option at this point in time and it is stunning that our own president feels passionate and justified in pursuing such detriment to this country.

Furthermore, anyone who is angry with or jealous of other people who are rich, and feel that because a man or woman is rich they are somehow obligated to give some of their money to you because they have too much, and you feel it is unfair for them to live like “That” when you live like “This”, I have one thing to say, “Take a look in the mirror, mull things over, and remind yourself that you live in America and whether you want to live as a pauper or a prince, this country allows you to succeed if you have the determination."

1,879.3 miles to go.

Day74 Thursday 11/11/10

ran 3.7 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll shows that 25% of American voters strongly approve of President Obama’s performance and 45% strongly disapprove, giving Barack Obama an Approval Index rating of –20, compared to –16 on this day last week.

• Barack Obama continues to get strong polling from Democrats; however, few Republicans offer approval and 52% of undeclared voters strongly disapprove.

• Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance and 54% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Rasmussen Reports first polling following the Midterm Election indicates that only 28% of American voters say the country is heading in the right direction.

• Only 21% of Americans agree that the government has the consent of the governed, according to Rasmussen’s Reports.

“For the Republicans who are looking to celebrate, it’s really important for them to remember they didn’t win. The other team lost.”

Scott Rasmussen

Taking on this blog and running all of these miles is a two-year long protest against our government, which is a last resort effort as I can find no other way to be heard when I ask the question so many of us would like to know, “Why does our government not obey the wishes of its people?” To seek a logical approach to why such an overwhelming majority of people is simply ignored by the leaders of their nation, I can only imagine that they have a plan, which does not include the opinions of the people they govern. And if that is the case, it is unconstitutional and it contradicts every purpose this country was intended to serve.

The Midterm Elections were a monumental victory but there is still a multitude of tasks yet to be done. America is losing its posture and hunching over like a tormented man beaten by no one but himself. Washington is behaving like children attempting to settle a schoolyard dispute. And the irony of all this circumstance is that our own president is the source of so much of our economic turmoil.

Socialization of health care, alone, has been a decade-old goal of liberal politicians and there is a reason it has only been discussed in the past and not actually acted upon. It doesn’t work. Europe is rioting right now because of big government and its control of industries that would be better left to free enterprise. Given the state of the economy, which Barack Obama has blatantly pointed out as being absolutely devastated by the actions of his predecessors, who in their right mind could make a decision to do something so radical, costly and risky as socializing health care at a time like this? It makes no sense. He naively promised America “Hope” and “Change” he could not deliver and if he hadn’t passed some of the radical legislation he did then the other twenty-something percent of people who strongly agree with his actions would be severely disappointed in his job as president, as well. Barack Obama’s ego and his legacy desired this health care bill and the indisputable majority of America wants nothing to do with it. If he has the power to glide freely against the grain of such an extensive American landscape within two years of his presidency, imagine what he will do to reform, or cripple, this country with another four-year term.

1,881.9 miles to go.

Day73 Wednesday 11/10/10

ran 2.6 miles
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to spend $600 billion more dollars purchasing government bonds has lowered the expectations of this week’s G20 summit of leaders hosted by South Korea. The hierarchy of world economics and leadership seems to be shifting in different directions as China is thrusting itself into a potential position of world power, unlike America, which is spending money it does not have, affecting the entire world’s economies, in an attempt to both stay afloat and remain the economic world beacon and currency standard.

Regarding the G20 meeting, Barack Obama seeks to return the focus to global imbalances and insists that America is not the only nation that needs to change its ways.

“Just as the United States must change, so too must those economies that have previously relied on exports to offset weaknesses in their own demand,” President Obama said indirectly making reference to China.

China is emerging as a real contender for the world position of economic leader as indicated by Forbes recent list of “World’s Most Powerful People”, in which Chinese president Hu Jintao made his way to first on the list, bumping Barack Obam to the second spot.

1,885.6 miles to go.

Day72 Tuesday 11/09/10

ran 2.6 miles
On this day in history, the event known as “Kristallnacht”, or “Night of Broken Glass”, ravaged the streets of Germany and Austria in 1938. German Nazis seized upon a campaign of terror against Jewish people. Their homes and businesses were targeted and the night was named for the endless amounts of windows framed in Jewish-owned establishments that were shattered. The violence continued through November 10, leaving approximately 100 Jews dead, 7,500 businesses damaged and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalized. Nearly 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, sent to concentration camps and held captive for months until they promised to leave Germany.

This tragic event was the catalyst that sparked the Holocaust. The Nazis leveraged the murder of a low-level German diplomat, Ernst vom Rath, as a means to launch a campaign of terror intended to purge Germany of its Jewish population. Ernst vom Rath was shot by a seventeen-year-old Polish Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, who wanted revenge for his parents’ sudden and unexplained deportation from Germany to Poland, along with tens of thousands of other Polish Jews.

Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, made heavy of the incident and ordered German troops to impose violent riots disguised as “Spontaneous demonstrations” against Jewish citizens. Local police and fire departments were ordered not to interfere.

Over 100,000 Jews fled Germany after Kristallnacht. The international community was outraged by the inhumane and criminal events of November 9 and 10, causing some countries to break all diplomatic relations with Germany. The Nazis were unaffected by the world’s response and as a result an estimated 6 million European Jews died.

This is not a day in American history but it is a day in world history that no nation should ever forget or repeat. My grandfather was in Germany during World War II and when I hold and see some of the objects he brought home with him, and look at pictures of his experiences, it is overwhelming and impossible to grasp the severity of that travesty in sane and explainable terms.

This day in history reminds me of a quote, which resonates with the idea of respecting and standing up for the principle of individualism and freedom regardless of whether persecution directly affects you personally or not.

“First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Pastor Niemoller

The more active and the more often people speak up and express themselves the more difficult it is for any source of power to manipulate or take advantage of individuals' freedoms.

1.888.2 miles to go.

Day71 Monday 11/08/10

ran 3.6 miles
This ten-day gesture of fortifying a half-built and rusted bridge of foreign relations with India and indulging in sightseeing throughout Asia, which Barack Obama is, for all my theory is worth, pursuing in order to flee from the domestic inadequacies he’s sown in his own country is a weak and transparent response to dealing with the red, white and blue hues of reality. And if any one person needs to deal with reality more than anyone else, it’s the President of the United States of America.

If he had not gone to India, which took much pre-planning and strategy to time it at such a moment conducive to weaseling out of facing the result of the Midterm elections, 2010, which he and his cabinet obviously foresaw as an inevitability, what would be happening right now? The majority of American’s who do not see things his way and the candidates we put into office would be scrutinizing his past motives and questioning his future plans with a velocity that will be unmatched by the time he gets back. It’s easy to say, “That’s politics. It was a good political move to protect himself.” Where I am from, if you do something that unleashes disdain on a large number of people and then run away from it instead of at least apologizing and assuring those you hurt that you would do everything in your power to make things right, we call that cowardice. That is why we are not politicians and it is why the term “Politics” is not an extenuating circumstance for misbehavior that is automatically excusable.

Voters spoke on Tuesday and it was a direct repudiation of Barack Obama’s ideas and actions over the past two years. Instead of allowing the American public to receive a real response of what we have been waiting so long to vote for, our President goes abroad. The majority of articles we've seen since the election are pictures and descriptions of Michelle looking “Fabulous” and Barack appearing to be diplomatic for far lesser reasons than what awaits him when he reaches American air space again.

This is a noteworthy article that points out some critical arguments concerning the frivolity of President Obama’s trip to India. As a closing question, do you think this trip, which is costing taxpayers $200 million a day, is critical? Is it a shield to weaken the blow American voters had thrashed upon him? Or is it possible, by mere coincidence in scheduling, that Barack Obama decided he was doing so good with domestic affairs that he would spend two billion tax dollars in carrying over his economic success in America to enrich relations with India and other foreign affairs?

1,890.8 miles to go.

Day70 Sunday 11/07/10

ran 2.6 miles
Today ends my tenth week of running against Barack Obama. I have run 185.6 miles, averaging 2.65 miles per day. Today also marks less than two years of counting down to the next presidential election. By the time November 7, 2012 arrives much will have occurred in America, and the rest of the world, and hopefully we will wake up to an alternative president after the November 6 election. It’s going to be an exciting two years to watch. Up until now, Liberals had an overwhelming source of power, possessing the Presidency, the Senate and the House. After November 2, they lost some important democrats in the Senate and completely lost their majority in the House, demoting Nancy Pelosi to a common representative like all of the others. What will make these two years so exciting is the fact that every single political figure will be studied under a microscope and equally scrutinized with every action they make. The past two years were easy for conservatives to simply say. “No, I disagree.” But now that they have some leverage in the house and new faces, which we voted into office as a reaction of intolerance for the liberal ideas that have passed through legislation, results are expected and America is impatiently waiting.

One important thing to watch, as soon as Barack and Michelle Obama get back from their over-extravagant trip to India, is if Obama is going to bend on any of the big issues (health care, Bush tax cuts expiring, possibility of more monopoly money stimulus packages, just to name a few) or if he is going to ardently continue to weaken America with his policies, which have been perceived by American voters as ineffective and detrimental to this country based on the results of the November 2 election.

Every once in a while, I like to reiterate on what the ultimate goal of this blog is and what it represents. This blog does not exist to blame all of the problems in America on Barack Obama. They have been building up like a clot in an artery for a very, very long time. I believe Barack Obama’s executive decisions over the past two years have thickened that clot to a diameter that has required a trip to the emergency room and that is what it took to wake America up and to urge Americans to get more involved in politics. Politicians, lobbyists, corporations, unions, banks, everyday people and numerous other entities have all contributed in letting America weaken and veer off of its intended path. But what is important now is that Barack Obama has managed to do everything wrong that he could to fully awaken American voters, who had been sleeping for a very long time. There is plenty of blame to pass around for the problems America is now facing, but for Barack Obama to introduce highly flawed systems like socialized health care and outrageous stimulus packages (based on Keynesian Economics, proven to fail in the past when implemented) at a time like this is hardly productive and extremely debilitating to an economy.

1,894.4 miles to go.

Day69 Saturday 11/06/10

ran 3.0 miles
Forbe’s “List of the World’s Most Powerful People” recently dethroned Barack Obama as the world’s most powerful and influential man and replaced him with China’s president, Hu Jintao. Forbe’s comprises this list with one single standard, regardless of whether the people on the list are leaders of nations, terrorists, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, media personalities, or religious figures. According to Forbe’s these are the individuals who, “In various ways, bend the world to their will.” Here is the top ten:

1. Hu Jintao, president of China
2. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America
3. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, king of Saudi Arabia.
4. Vladimir Putin, prime minister of Russia.
5. Pope Benedict the Sixteenth.
6. Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany.
7. David Cameron, prime minister of the U.K.
8. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
9. Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress political party.
10. Bill Gates, for his philanthropy (not Microsoft)

The rest of the list, 68 people, is here.

There’s really not much left to be said as that number one ranking speaks for itself. You have to appreciate Forbe’s honesty and their commitment to printing real facts, unlike so many of our media outlets. For instance, where have you read, heard, or watched, anywhere in America, how ridiculously expensive Obama’s ten day excursion to India is? $200 million a day! If you want any facts about the money he is spending on this trip, the immense entourage he is taking, or what real purpose he is serving in proportion to the taxpayer money he is spending, so conveniently close to a dismal midterm election, you have to look at papers from India, news from the BBC, European papers, or even Australian articles. The rest of the world prints facts and commentates truths about our president and country while our own country prints spin and puffery, or news that will not disrupt the delicate fabric of our ignorance to important issues that are so crucial to our nation.

On a personal note, today marks exactly two years until the November 6, 2012 presidential election. When I started this campaign, the goal I set for myself was extremely overwhelming and I’ve had weak moments over the past three months, but as each day goes by I feel stronger and stronger about the statement I am trying to make. Ultimately, I am in the early stages of peacefully protesting against Barack Obama’s presidency for what will amount to two years and a little over two months. Today is a milestone because tomorrow will be one day less than two years until this country makes a big decision to continue feeling sorry for its excellence or to begin redefining the excellence of the people that make America the amazing country it is.

1,897 miles to go.

Day68 Friday 11/05/10

ran 2.6 miles

• Connecticut was the fifth state to join the union on January 9, 1788, seven days after Georgia and one month before Massachusetts.

• Population, as of 2009, is 3,518,288.

• Senators are Joe Lieberman (D) and Richard Blumenthal (D).

• Representatives are John Larson (D), Joe Courtney (D), Rosa DeLauro (D), Jim Himes (D), and Christopher Murphy (D).

• Connecticut holds seven electoral votes. Historically, the state has voted democratic the last four elections, the prior five were won by republicans, with democrats taking the three before that, indicating that the state seems to have a delicate and malleable past and future, which is just intangible enough to not quite designate it as a “Swing state”.

On a separate note, if you divide $200,000,000 of taxpayer money spent everyday on the next ten days of Barack Obama’s excursion to India (and an elaborate tour of Asia) by the frustration America feels with its government it equals inexcusability.

I cannot believe the audacious heights of vanity, in the clouds, which this man’s head floats abroad from all reality. His disregard for what makes this country go around filters so much opportunity from its own pureness.

1,900 miles to go.

Day67 Thursday 11/04/10

ran 2.8 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll shows that 27% of American voters strongly approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 43% strongly disapprove, giving Obama an Approval Index rating of –16, compared to –20 on this day last week.

• Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance and 54% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Rasmussen Reports telephone exit polling found that 59% of those who voted on Election Day favored repeal of the health care law, including 48% who strongly favored its repeal.

• An Election Night survey reported that those who went to the polls for the mid-term elections were largely angry and ready to repeal health care. Also, most voters favored the Tea party, tax cuts, and reduced government spending. And 55% of American voters believed that most Democrats in Congress have extreme views.

Barack and Michelle Obama, and an entourage of 3,000 people, will be off to India soon for a ten-day trip, which will cost American taxpayers $200 million a day for ten days. No kidding, amidst virtually double digit unemployment numbers, a weak economy, and a furious public with Obama’s entire agenda, which just wiped out a lot of democrats who risked their political careers for his beliefs and were unseated only two days ago for those beliefs, Obama is going to India, hitting some of the biggest spots in Asia, and all on our dime, achieving absolutely nothing equal to the scope of the money he is spending to do it and the audacity he has to hope so blindly that American’s are as uninformed as he would like to believe.

I like to humbly believe I am an open-minded human being who has the understanding and patience to not make preconceived notions or to pass unnecessary judgments on other people, who have as much right as I do to make decisions of any kind, but excess of this sort, when an entire nation is in your hands, is inexcusable. Regardless of what Barack Obama anticipated happening on the night of November 2, this trip took a lot of planning that started a long, long time ago, and whatever parties were involved with planning the trip, every single individual on that planning panel was fully aware of the proximity of the trip to the Mid-term elections.

My theory: Run! Create headlines that deter and weaken the reality of what just happened in the country you lead. I’d go so far as to say that our president made this trip so outrageously expensive to make it important enough to consume headlines so they would read in bold print anything but the stories about the election that just occurred. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems so obvious to me, planning a trip like this requires so much time and planning, and it just happens to be a few days after the Mid-term elections? They could have scheduled it two weeks from now. After the realization of Tuesday night, the difference in scrutiny between a few days of dealing with America’s wrath and abandoning the situation entirely for a week and a half is huge, and as strategic as it is transparent.

1,902.6 miles to go.

Day66 Wednesday 11/03/10

ran 3.8 miles
I had some residual excitement from last night’s election and ran a little further than usual tonight. When I went to bed last night the last thing I saw on Fox News was a digital map of the United States. Most of the states lacked any definitive contour to their shapes because someone in the news studio appeared to have thrown a bucket of red Photoshop paint on the entire computer image. Slivers of blue in the predictable eastern and western coastal areas accompanied a few random specks of blue more inland.

The election was a huge, unified statement proclaimed by the large majority of Americans. The few critical races that were a disappointment only sullied the larger picture of the night’s victories with a mere tinge of frustration. Barack Obama is in a delicate spot right now, due to last night’s outcome, with many eggshells under his feet, which it is in his best interest to not further crumble. Likewise, our newly elected politicians have a tight wire to cross if they are truly going to obtain the goals they campaigned with and got elected for. Today starts two years of hopefully clearing a concise path through a directionless terrain toward the next presidential election. Here are some quotes from yesterday’s election.

"This is not a time for celebration, not when one in 10 of our fellow citizens are out of work, not when we have buried our children under a mountain of debt, not when our Congress is held in such low esteem."

John Boehner

"Eleven percent of the people approve of what's going on in Congress. But tonight, there's a Tea Party tidal wave, and we're sending a message to them!"

Rand Paul

"No matter where I go, whatever title I may achieve, I will always be the son of exiles and will always be the heir of two generations of unfulfilled dreams."

Marco Rubio

“I have great confidence in the American system. We must believe in ourselves and not believe that somehow some benevolent leader in a distant capital will take care of us, will save us from ourselves. We must once again believe in ourselves.”

Rand Paul

1,905.4 miles to go.

Day65 Tuesday 11/02/10

ran 3.0 miles
On this day in history, November 2, 2010, from the moment the first vote was cast to the moment the last precinct submitted its ballots for counting, today will live on as a day that American’s spoke out, finally being heard, and were given the opportunity to reprimand and halt government actions we do not agree with. We earned this one single day, after two years of screaming into the deaf ears of Congress, to unseat some of the Senators, Representatives, and Governors who have supported Barack Obama’s radical agenda and helped to pass the legislation of his extreme liberal ideas.

Today will go down as a day in history that your children and your grandchildren can genuinely thank you for because America’s voice and vote has enriched and empowered their futures by putting up an instant barrier to Barack Obama’s idea of what America should be. The votes tonight speak for themselves insomuch as the House is being taken over by a Republican tsunami, the Senate is significantly weakened compared to their liberal numbers yesterday, and Governors have painted the American landscape red.

The outcomes of today’s elections are a direct repudiation of Barack Obama’s first two years. Tomorrow begins a whole new chapter in American politics and one of the first actions will be a televised speech delivered by Barack Obama addressing the nation on his reaction to the fact that the majority of voters in the country he leads disagree with most of his actions and ideas.

Today was an epic day in American history and if nothing else, doesn’t it just feel nice, every once in a while, to simply feel heard at such a large volume, that only a sweeping vote of this momentum can unite into audible words that speak directly to our politicians, who, otherwise, leave their suggestion boxes permanently locked?

1,909.2 miles to go.

Day64 Monday 11/01/10

ran 3.0 miles
Here’s something you may not know. Barack Obama, addressing primarily Latino voters last week, was quoted as saying, “…To rally to the aid of their political ‘Friends’ and to thwart their political ‘Enemies’.”

John Podesta, ex-president Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff, even commented that a different word besides “Enemy” was more than appropriate. “Opposition”, maybe, or even “Those who don’t see things the way I, or we, do”, perhaps?

Republican Minority Leader, John Boehner, had this to say, “You know, when President Bush, President Reagan, President Clinton and George W. Bush used the word enemies, they were referring to global terrorism or dictators around the world who hated freedom and hated America. For the president to use that word about people who oppose bigger government, people who are freedom loving and love our Constitution, I tell you I find that very appalling," he said.

"Mr. President, I've got a word for those people who oppose you're policies, those people who love our country and Constitution, who love freedom and the principles America was founded on. You know what I call them? Not enemies. They're patriots.”

Tomorrow is the day. I haven’t been this excited since the Saints went to the Super Bowl last year. Get out and vote and let’s get closure on where America’s voice stands. Polls will be put to the test tomorrow and voter turnout will be potentially record-breaking. To not have a voice in this epoch moment in American politics is a disappointment every registered voter should avoid.

1,912.2 miles to go.