Cogratulations Obama, Condolences McCain & May God Bless America

After 20 days of posing hard questions about this election and Barack Obama, I would be remiss to not share my thoughts on this historic evening.

Sincere congratulations to President-Elect Obama. May God guide you and protect you with his wisdom and power. While you did not win my vote and I remain leery of your intentions and suspicious of your qualifications and associations, beginning on the day you take office you will have my support as President of the United States. And as with all elected leaders past, present and future, you will have a fair opportunity to keep or to lose my support. I sincerely wish you success in achieving the former.

You deserve the respect of America and the world for delivering what I pray will be the final blow to the cancer of active racism that has plagued our nation since its inception. For that, you have earned a special page in history.

We should all take you up on your promise tonight to listen to America’s citizens, especially when we disagree. Where we differ, let there be honest, robust and respectful discourse but not divisiveness. May we work together to find solutions to the great challenges of our time.

As we move forward from this long, impassioned battle for the White House, let’s all return our focus to the serious issues we face. In so doing, let’s not tear down those with whom we disagree, but let us lift up our ideas and ideals. Let us turn from politics of division to politics of vision.

I believe this must become the platform of the Republican Party and conservative Americans if we are to recover the support and confidence of Americans in elections ahead.

In the inspirational example that is the life story of John McCain, let us always put our country first and work together as Americans in a spirit of service, camaraderie and integrity that can ensure America remains that shining city on a hill thriving by the grace of God in the blanket of freedom.

On this blog and in my support of John McCain, I have tried to not overstep the boundary between ungrounded personal attacks and the need, the responsibility of all citizens to hold our leaders and those who seek to be our leaders accountable for their statements and actions. I hope I have not faltered in this regard, and I hope America can rise above such temptations by always keeping to the higher ground even during our most fervent disagreements.

God bless America.

Is This Election Really Pivotal? - Question 20 - 1 Day Left Until the Election

Every four years we hear that THIS is the most important election we have seen in years. Is that true this year?

Vote in the poll to the right ------------------------>

And if so, who will you vote for and why? What do you believe makes this election so pivotal? And what have you done to influence the outcome? Will you work to get voters who share your position out to the polls on Election Day?

If not, why not?

Share thoughts via a comment below.

Is Barrack Obama Ready? - Question 19 - 2 Days Until the Election

Is Barrack Obama ready to be an effective, successful President of the United States?

Share why or why not in a comment below.

Vote in the poll to the right ------->

Can You Sway an Undecided? - Question 18 - 3 Days Until the Election

Do you feel comfortable and confident talking to an undecided voter?

Vote in side poll, but more importantly, read on and share answers in a comment.

As many as 1 in 7 voters (14+%) remain undecided at the time of this post; the election will be decided by which way these voters "break". When you look at the polling numbers that include Nader, McCain is within the margin of error against Obama nationally (about 47.5% Obama to 44% McCain with almost 3% Nader), and the numbers are similar in most battleground states.

So it's easy to see the importance of the currently undecided voters. Most experts believe when considering all the accolades, all the press, all the grassroots efforts and all the ads for Obama, that if a voter hasn't already decided they can support him by now, they never will - and will vote McCain. But, they may need just a small nudge.

How can YOU give them that little nudge?

I've had a lot of success with one simple question:

"Can you tell me three things that Obama has achieved in government that qualify him to occupy the Oval office?"

That's a fair and reasonable question. Most of us have had to answer that question during a job interview, so shouldn't a candidate for President of the United States be able to do the same?

But in my experience, even staunch Obama supporters tend to stammer and stagger at this question. Especially, if you don't let them list being hired or elected to previous positions as an "achievement."

For example, getting elected to the Senate doesn't count as an achievement that by itself makes someone qualified to be President, just like being hired to work on an assembly line doesn't count as an achievement that by itself qualifies someone to be Plant Manager. You have to DO SOMETHING, accomplish something in previous positions to demonstrate your ability to perform well at the next level.

Similarly, having ideas and saying great things doesn't qualify someone for a position. I've had some great ideas about how airlines could increase their revenue and how cities could eliminate ruch hour traffic problems - but the ideas alone don't make me ready to be CEO of an airline or City Manager in any city facing traffic problems.

So again, what three things has Barack Obama achieved in government that qualify him to be Commander-in-Chief?