A wink is as good as a nod to a blind man.

"Period." It means end of discussion. No point in carrying on. When someone tells you that "it's gonna be this way, period," you get the impression that he means it. But I am one of the five per cent-ers that got screwed by the presidents declaration that if "you like your current health plan, you can keep it." And don't forget the "Period." So I am mad. Hopping mad that my premiums will almost double. But my anger, where is it really aimed?

I have listened to plenty of friends, PLENTY, call Obama the "worst president ever." I think you are forgetting a few faces to boldly make that claim, but it is a predictable Republican reaction to having listened to eight years of Bush bashing by the liberals and how badly he failed us. I used to share an office space with a guy that would run to the trading floor at the CBOT to do a live interview with CNBC every week. Financial genius. He HATED Obama. Every day I would sit rapt as he countlessly listed one reason after another that he would be the ruin of us. But for me, my anger does not stem from financial or even social reasons.

The man that ran for the presidency in 2008 was a salesman. Still is. And he sold us his bullshit and we bought it. Twice. He took the Clinton handbook on how to win an election and did it better than the Clintons. We elected this guy because he figured out how to win the presidency based on his charm and oration skills. He didn't have a damn clue on what to do once he got in there. It is the system that gave us this failure, and it is broken so that no person can win without the money and support of one of the major parties. I fully believe that corruption in campaign finance is the biggest threat to democracy this country has ever faced.

Here's an idea. Take the top 20 people in America with a vision for the presidency, that are NOT chained to either major party, and stick them on a television show, and let them debate each other, voted off one by one until you had a candidate that America could get behind. He would have such name recognition, he wouldn't need the untold millions wasted on elections to compete.



But back to me being angry. I'm angry that Obama lied to my face. But then again, they all do it. "I did not have relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky," and "I am not a crook," jump to mind. Reagan lied about arms for hostages, Bush said "Read my lips: no new taxes, " then taxed us. But generally in the history of presidential liars, most did not have the intention of directly lying to the American public for political gain to win an election. Bwaa haa haa! Riiight. Ok maybe they all stretch the truth to a certain degree while itching to get into office, but this one directly and personally affects me. So I am mad. They all say they are gonna do this or that once in office, and no one can ever live up to all that. But this time, it was the salesman at his finest. We are the emperor, and we have no clothes. Got this one from a Monty Python skit, "A wink is as good as a nod to a blind man." We thought we saw the nod, but we were too blind to see he was just winking at us.