Obama—Si, Rubio and Jeb Bush

The Cato Institute’s Doug Bandow writes, “There are plenty of reasons to criticize President Obama and his cast of liberal but incompetent hawks, However, he’s got Cuba policy right in contrast to Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and most of the GOP presidential wannabes. It long ago was evident that the embargo had failed and deserved to be replaced. (And that America’s embassy should be reopened, as the president has also proposed.) If conservative Republicans believe in recognizing reality and getting results, as they claim, they should back trade and engagement with Cuba.”

Obama has presided over a failed presidency. In fact he is one of the least prepared and least competent presidents in modern history. Voters apparently agree, based on this November’s election outcome. Come 2016, the voters will have an opportunity to vote into the White House a more seasoned, prepared and small business-friendly president.

For the majority of Americans, the top priority is keeping America safe and prosperous. Americans know that the Fed has bought the unbalanced economic recovery America has enjoyed in recent years. The Fed has accomplished the rebound with an ultra-low interest rate policy that benefits big government, big corporations, and Wall Street (borrowers all) at the expense of individual retirement savers (interest rate crumbs).

Americans are also keenly aware that it is America’s small business risk takers who provide the majority of our country’s new jobs. Finally on the safe and prosperous front, the majority of Americans also know that beyond getting thousands of Americans killed and maimed and families destroyed, America has benefited little if at all from the Afghanistan, Iraq and Libyan military adventures. Shouldn’t it be a no-brainer that a 2016 presidential aspirant might find a warm reception from voters with a basic no-frills “Safe and Prosperous” platform, one constructed to actually achieve both safety and prosperity for all Americans? At its heart such a platform would be opposed to foreign military adventurism (i.e. nation building), and pro America’s small business, risk-taking job generators. We’re talking focus and the big picture here. We’re talking maximum safety and prosperity for all of us. And we’re talking eschewing political posturing that supports any special interest group.

The Cato Institute (Debbie and I are benefactors) is America’s #1 think tank in support of just the above general philosophy. Over the past year, I have posted often on the scholarly work of Chris Preble, Justin Logan, Dan Mitchell and, of course, Doug Bandow, to name a few. All of my postings are available to you here at richardcyoung.com. Were I advising presidential candidates, my first course of action would be that they spend a day at Cato with the four scholars listed above.