One thing I will miss with the changing of the guard next week is the amount of class that is currently in the White House.  Love him or hate him, you have to be dishonest to say that this president is lacking in class.  And you cannot possibly accuse the current first lady of lacking in class.  Just watching tonight’s speech reminded me of just how much class Mr. Bush has.  He could have taken the opportunity to take shots at everyone who had mis-treated him in the last 8 years…but he didn’t.  In fact, the only thing that was anything close to a “shot” was pointing out that Iraq has been a success (even though he admitted mistakes in the process), and he pointed out that there have been no further terrorist attacks on American soil.

Mr. Bush was plain about one thing tonight:  he did things that he thought were right for the country.  He did what he thought was right in every case.  He didn’t test the wind to see what was popular.  He didn’t run a poll before every decision.  He was the leader of the free world, and he acted like it.  He surrounded himself with smart people, and trusted their council.  Again, don’t misunderstand:  I know he made mistakes.  All presidents do.  But, it has been nice to have a president who makes decisions based on what he thinks is right, not based on what will make the most people happy.  It is quite humorous to me that just weeks ago an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at our president.  Think about that.  It was because of President Bush that the journalist had the ability to take such an action.  He gave the Iraqi people the freedom to do what they want to do, even if that means acting as ignorant as the media in the US!

Watch the transition of power between the Bush White House and the Obama White House.  I predict that the transition will be smooth and graceful.  I’m sure that you all remember the transition of power last time around.  Yeah, somewhat less than graceful for the departing crew.

There is about to be a change in this country.  Perhaps our new president will somehow learn to act with class and dignity miraculously before next Tuesday.  I doubt it.  But, he will have at least four years to develop it.  Instead of ranting against Mr. Bush, Mr. Obama should take a page from his book.  I know it is far too much to hope that he will lean toward conservatism, but he certainly could learn much about the poise and dignity of the presidency from our current president.

So, I say goodbye to President George W. Bush.  Thanks for your service, and thank you for bringing dignity back to the White House, even if it has only been for a short period of time…

Rasmussen is now reporting that the approval rating of congress is in single digits at 9%.  That is a decline of 2 points since last month.  We are being assured that things are going to get so much better when Obama is elected, but when given the opportunity to do something with the power that they have, the democrats do absolutely nothing.  They constantly blame the president for standing in their way, but the truth is they have been miserable failures.  Nancy Pelosi has been atrocious in her leadership position, and Harry Reid is not much better!  Even the democrats rate the congress low!  That should tell them something.  They have certainly not done anything to deserve another term, but they will get it none the less.  I guess we will see just how low their approval rating goes.

I believe this all goes back to gas prices.  Paying over $4 per gallon for gas will make anyone get angry at the government.  Most people are blaming the Bush administration.  After all, he is a “big oil” guy, and that makes him pander to his oil cronies, right?  Wrong.  In 2000, when Bush took office, gasoline was about $1.52 per gallon.  4 years later, the average was $1.73 per gallon.  In 2006, when the democrats took over congress, the average price was $2.28.  However, after just a few months of the democrat policy change, the price of gas rose to $3.02.  That is a $.74 increase in a matter of months.  Under the republican congress and Bush administration, the price only rose $.76 in 6 YEARS!  Now, after 2 years of the Democrat led congress, the price is up to an average of $4.10.  That is an increase of $1.82 since the Dems took office in 2006.  I am amazed that so many people find a way to blame Bush when the factor that changed at the time that gas prices began to spike was the leadership and majority in the congress!

The extreme left can continue with the mantra that this is all Bush’s fault, but in the end the truth is being made known by the American people.  If they really thought it was all Bush’s fault, then Congress would not have a 9% approval rating!

From Obama’s official Blueprint for Change . Now, let me get this straight. He says that all of his appointees will have to have demonstrated that they have risen to the "standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission." My question is: why doesn’t that apply to the boss himself? I mean, Senator Obama’s dismally thin resume certainly does not demonstrate that he has risen to the "standard of proven excellence" needed to be President of the United States… you have to actually have had experience to be proven excellent.

"Obama will preserve Social Security by stopping any efforts to privatize it and working in a bipartisan way to
preserve it for future generations."

From the same source. Really Senator? Because you and the rest of the government have done such a cracker-jack job of taking care of Social Security thus far? That’s the problem with socialists like you, Senator. You automatically assume the government can do it better than the individual. So all your talk about how you’re fighting for the middle-class American is proven to be a bunch of hot air by your approach to government: "Let me do it for you, because you’re not smart enough to do it yourself!"

"Obama will quadruple Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both."

I’m sure you’ll tell us where all that money is coming from right, Senator? Oh, that’s right, you’ve already told us! You intend to lay the entire tax burden on the wealthy, right? I mean, hey, let’s forget that they employ the rest of us, and all that extra money you’re going to tax them has to come from somewhere, like a middle class American’s job (you know, that guy you claim you’re protecting?). A few more examples of "doubling" or even "quadrupling" big government program budgets:

"Obama will double funding for after-school programs…"

"Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years…"

"Obama will double science and research funding…"

"Obama will also provide affordable and high-quality child care to ease the burden on working families."

Question, Senator. Why is child care a governmental responsibility? Shouldn’t that be left up to the family? Oh wait, you’ve already demonstrated that you believe you can do it better than the individual… Thanks for taking money out of my paycheck to put someone else’s kid in daycare, while I take care of my own like I’m supposed to. I appreciate that, Senator.

"As a result of climate change, glaciers are melting faster; the polar ice caps are shrinking; trees are blooming earlier; more people are dying in heat waves; species are migrating, and eventually many will become extinct."

Really, Senator, you shouldn’t rely on Al Gore’s sources. Its already been demonstrated he makes stuff up, like most of the stuff listed above. Oh yeah, and you might want to read up on how the earth is entering a cooling phase, as you’re signing those bills (on paper taken from those poor trees, I wonder?) to spend $15 billion a year on "green" initiatives.

Senator Obama has painted himself for this entire campaign as a "different" kind of politician, a "unifier", one who will fight for "all" Americans.

Really? All those attacks on President Bush are "unifying"? Through the 40+ pages of his "Blueprint", he blamed nearly every problem in the nation on President Bush in specific, and Republicans in general. That’s hardly unifying, or true. Especially when you consider that most of the problems existed long before George W. Bush took office. And repeatedly having anti-capitalistic ideas and vowing to raise taxes on the wealthy is fighting for "all" Americans? Senator, is it so hard for you to understand that it is business that runs this country? Oh, wait, you believe the giant government programs you intend to implement are the way to build jobs in this country. I guess we’ll need that, since your proposed increases on the wealthy and the companies they own will force severe downsizing. I guess those "downsized" folks will need a job somewhere, and it just so happens that there will be President Obama, waiting with open arms, to once again "prove" the Democratic, socialist, theory that government can take care of you better than you can take care of yourself.

Please, people. Look past the flowery speeches, the insufferable rhetoric, and the false accusations aimed at President Bush and Republicans; and dig into what Obama is telling you he really believes, and the ways he intends to get those beliefs accomplished.

Because I don’t think you really want what you’ll get with a President Obama.

A real plan for the “energy crisis”. President Bush pushed for drilling for oil in Anwar. That is the most logical plan for success when it comes to our energy problems. We can provide enough oil for our nation for a long time (how long is still under debate, but most acknowledge there is a lot of oil there). One reporter said that this would be a “long term” solution, but she was dead wrong about this. If we announced today that we were moving equipment into Anwar, the price of gas would start coming down almost immediately. Even if the Arab nations thought we were bluffing, when we started moving equipment into Anwar, they would fall all over themselves to lower the price of oil. Unfortunately, the democrats are going to continue to fight tooth and nail over this solution. Nancy Pelosi wants to open up our reserves…like that will really work. The best outcome that I have read lowers the price at the pump somewhere between $.05 and $.20 per gallon, and that only in the short term until our reserves begin to deplete!

Make the tax cuts permanent. We all know that President Bush has been pushing for this since he got the tax cuts through in the first place. But, he really emphasized in this press conference the connection between the threat of increased taxes and the current economic “slow down”. Anyone who can’t put two and two together and understand that the threat of increased taxes causes people to stop spending their money is an idiot! If you think that a bill is going to come due next week, and the only way you can pay it is to save the money you have today, what will you do? Those that are truly conscious of their obligations will do what they have to do to pay their bills. The democrats are telling us that they are going to raise taxes! They are going to get rid of the Bush tax cuts, which means that middle class Americans (not just the wealthy, as they try to make us believe) are going to owe more money. I read a few days ago that anyone making over $50,000 will suddenly owe $4000 to $5000 more per year in taxes. That is significant! We need the confidence that we aren’t going to have a new tax load before we will be willing to spend our money.

Put the economic blame where it belongs. Now, I have not agreed with a lot that President Bush has done fiscally, but to try and pin the economic “slow down” on him and his administration is ludicrous! He spoke this morning about how the democrats in congress have intentionally stalled legislation dealing with our trade with Columbia. We have an unfair setup with Columbia right now. They send their exports to us duty free, and our exports to them are taxed. If small businesses could send their products out tax free, they could make more money, and thus may just save their own businesses. I’m not an economist, and I don’t even play one on TV, but it makes sense to me that if we can export more products, it would be good for our economy. After all, the more I may sell as a business man, the more money I can make. It seems that principle would spread out over the whole economy. Furthermore, it is the democrats who continue to call for more and more spending. I found it ironic that the same democrats who try to make it sound like the Bush administration is spending too much on the Iraq war are the same democrats calling for the War Spending Bill to be increased with their pet projects! As I surf the web and read the liberal blogs, I keep seeing these annoying little widgets that tell us how much is being spent on the Iraq War. However, what is not told is how much of that number is the pork put in by the democrats! The president has set a cap on the spending bill, and it is the democrat led congress who are trying to add to it, and expand the spending. Please don’t act high and mighty about wanting to stop the spending if you are going to keep adding to the bill.

Nicely call Jimmy Carter an idiot. When asked if Jimmy Carter’s nice little visit with Hamas was beneficial, or whether it could cause problems, President Bush responded very diplomatically. He explained why he could not, and would not meet with the terrorist group. They are the group responsible for much of the unrest in the Middle East. They are a group that is against peace, and will continue to be so. Jimmy Carter’s visit to the region completely undermined the work that every president has done in the region since his time. The truth of the matter is, Jimmy Carter was an extreme failure in foreign policy when he was in the White House, and he continues to show his inadequacies in that department now. He didn’t have enough sense to listen to those who are far wiser than he in such matters. Don’t get me wrong, I think Jimmy Carter is probably a good guy, with good intentions. He has done some good work in this country, especially with Habitat for Humanity. But, he really needs to stay here, and work on those projects, instead of trying to deal with things he obviously knows nothing about. He has become an embarrassment to even the democratic party, and that is saying something!

I am sure there were a lot of other things that were worth discussing in the press conference this morning, but these stood out in my mind as I watched. If you saw it (or heard it) and want to add to my list, feel free to do so in the comments below!