No doubt that, by now, most of you have read Rick Santorum’s statement which suggests that, if Mitt Romney were the nominee, a conservative might as well just allow Obama another four years.  I like Rick Santorum.  I even voted for him when I lived in Pennsylvania.  That said, with that statement, I believe he is officially done as a presidential candidate and, I believe, as a leader in the conservative movement.

To understand my dismay with this comment is to understand the seminal battle that lie ahead in November.  Every four years, we hear about how this is the most important election of our lifetimes.  Usually, its just hyperbole.  However, we have seen what three and a half years of Obama has wrought upon this nation.  It is my sincere belief that our nation, ravaged by debt, slow revocation of individual sovereignty and a disasterous economy, simply cannot survive another four years being led by a President who has such a profoundly obvious disdain for the United States.  Quite simply, Barack Obama must not be re-elected President of the United States.

This battle will not be easy.  This President will have $1 billion dollars, the vast majority of the media, higher education, big labor, big environment, big civil rights, big abortion and big crony capitalism on his side, attempting to steal what could be America’s last truly free election.  The only hope we have is to unite as a movement to defeat this man, his party and his entire political philosopy, which rewards the lazy with the fruits of the industrious’ labor.  Rick Santorum has, in effect, cut the most effective political campaign in the history of politics.  All team Chicago has to do is run that statement on a loop.  No Music, weird lighting or creepy voice over will be necessary.  This statement from Santorum is a tremendous blow to what we all know must happen…the defeat of Barack Obama.

This essay is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney.  While I like and respect Mitt Romney and will gladly pull the lever for him, I do have problems with him.  I believe that he is too quick to demean his own success.  I believe that he is too quick to compromise his principles for the expedient.  Not to mention Romneycare.  But, the reality is that Mitt Romney will be the nominee of the Republican Party.  While he is not the perfect standard bearer for our party, he is not a Marxist and that’s enough for me.

I understand that many of my fellow Red State travelers cannot stomach the thought of having to back Romney.  To those folks, whose opinions I understand and respect, I would say that as much as you dislike Romney, think what another 4 years of Obama will do to the country.  With another four years, Obamacare will be institutionalized and, therefore, unrepealable.  The transfer of wealth from the workers to the non-workers will be complete and we will fall back to the rest of the pack, which is the apparent goal of Obama…to abdicate our position as the indispensible nation, putting us on equal footing with nations in Europe.  Romney may be many things, but he is not this and, again, given the alternative that’s good enough for me.

If you still cannot stomach the thought of campaigning for Romney, I would suggest getting behind the most conservative person in your locality and supporting that person for Congress and the Senate.  For example, in my district, I recently learned that Anna Little will be taking another stab at defeating Pelosi’s favorite yes man, Frank Pallone.  I will put a Romney lawn sign up and I will donate money to the national committee, but I will go door to door, stuff envelopes and make calls  for Anna.  Because I know that the more conservatives we elect to Congress and the Senate, the more rightward we can push Romney.  It is our best hope.

So, in closing, again I say I like Rick Santorum.  He has been a true conservative warrior for years.  But by suggesting that Obama is a better choice than Romney, you have disqualified yourself from any further consideration as our nominee.

Finally

Finally, we get to start selecting our nominee, tonight in Iowa.  All of the pundits have had their say.  Now, however, the most important part of the political process gets to have their say:  The Voters. 

To those in Iowa who peruse this site, I say good luck tonight and thank you.  Thank you for caring enough about your country to come out on a cold, January evening to express your views and your choice in the most effective way you can…by voting.

As to the candidates themselves, they all have strengths and weaknesses.  Some, obviously, are more glaring than others.  None of them are in the same ballpark as Reagan or, for that matter, even George W. Bush.  That said, with the exception of Ron Paul, they are all dramatically better than Barack Obama.

Again, to the voters of Iowa, I say good luck to you tonight and thank you.

Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name ..” … 1 Chron 29:12-13.

“And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.”

-Last Paragraph of George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789

Tomorrow, many of us will gather with family and friends and offer our thanks to the Lord our God, through our savior, Jesus Christ.  We will gorge ourselves on turkey, stuffing and pie.  Many of us will then fall asleep watching the Ravens/49ers game (yours truly included). 

However, by duty or circumstance, many will not participate in such festivities.  Men and women fighting overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, men and women serving as police and firefighters will not be with their families on this solemn day because they will be fighting/working to keep us safe and free.

Some will not be with their families because of financial circumstances.  Whether they are in shelters or don’t have enough money to spend on shelter, utilities AND a full Thanksgiving spread, many in this terrible economy will simply not be able to participate in a dinner with family and friends.  Many others will be alone for Thanksgiving, having said goodbye to their soulmate because of disease and death.

We are a truly blessed people, living in a truly blessed nation.  Many of us have creature comforts that are the envy of the world.  While these things are nice, they are not what make us free.  Freedom comes from the ability to decide our own path in life under a blanket of protection provided by those who would willingly give their lives for the freedom of those whom they do not know.  We honor them by gathering with our family to thank the Lord, through Christ, for our many blessings.  We honor God by doing all we can to help those serving our country and those who cannot help themselves.

So, as I get ready to close up shop, get off the grid and head to the DC suburbs to celebrate Thanksgiving with the people I love, please join me in helping our military, police and firefighters, as well as those down on their luck.  Below are some links, if you’re interested.

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society:  http://www.nmcrs.org/

Wounded Warrior Project:  http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Catholic Charities:  http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/

Sister Jean’s Kitchen:  http://www.jeanwebsterskitchen.com/

May God Bless all of you and yours.  May God Bless our military and public safety professionals.  May God provide a blanket of protection for those struggling with disease and despair.  And may God continue to Bless our wonderful United States of America.  Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

In watching the debate last night, I was struck with a realization of our predicament as a party and as a movement.  After watching the debate, I came away with the thought that only three of the candidates are ready to be President, from a knowledge and competence standpoint.  Mitt (not Willard) Romney, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman. 

There is no doubt that each has flaws.  Romney is a serial flip-flopper and incredibly lame.  Gingrich is an intelligent person, but his conservatism has been sketchy.  Newt also comes across as arrogant and condescending.  Huntsman is also not consistently conservative, but is probably conservative enough.  His problems are the fact that he’s even lamer than Romney and that he’s a bit of a weasel.  While Huntsman’s policy views have remained consistent, his act of betrayal while Ambassador to China is as close to unforgivable as it gets.  While I’m no fan of Zero, he was Huntsman’s boss.  The fact that Huntsman had no moral qualms about undercutting his boss and, by extension, his country while serving as this nation’s Ambassador to its largest creditor and military adversary speaks volumes about his character and it isn’t good.

As to the others, Perry has a great record in Texas, but you cannot come off as borderline illiterate.  Bachmann knows her stuff, but she says incredibly stupid stuff far too often.  Santorum got whacked in his re-election in Pennsylvania.  Paul looks like Ray Walston’s character in My Favorite Martian and Herman Cain is not prepared for this job (although I suspect that he’d make a great Secretary of Commerce).

Thus, this  is  the situation that we find ourselves in.  None of these individuals are exactly worthy of going all out for.  None of these people are Reagan, or anything close.  Yet, we all know that, if Obama gets re-elected, America’s best days will truly be behind her.  So, in order to prevent such a calamity, I believe that we’re going to have to swallow hard, pinch our noses and vote for one of these characters.   The question, of course, then becomes which one is least odious.

In making such a determination, it is useful to discuss how one gets elected President.  In order to get elected President, a candidate must win the suburbs.  Utilizing my home area as an example, one must win Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Burlington, Camden, Gloucester counties in New Jersey.  If we assume for a moment (I am fully aware what happens when you assume) that roughly 30% of the electorate is independent and that most of these 30% live in the suburbs, we must figure out a way to ensure that we get at least 50%+1 of these 30%.

The folks who make up these 30% are the people we see around town.  They work long hours, attend the kids’ soccer games and have neighborhood bbq’s.  Maybe they take two vacations a year (usually one during the summer and one in the week between Christmas and New Year’s).  The only time they get involved in politics is during a Presidential election or when a particular issue affects them.  For example, a woman that I am very close to only really cares about politics as it effects her nephew, who is a special needs student.  Otherwise, she doesn’t really want to be bothered.  She likes Obama, but recognizes that he isn’t particularly good at his job.  So, she’s open to voting for someone else.  I would argue that this is the typical independent voter.

Thus, the trick is to figure out which of these candidates would encourage our base to come out, while attracting the voter I described above.  Romney and Huntsman would attract the voter above, but doesn’t excite the base.  Perry, Bachmann and Cain would do well with the base, but wouldn’t attract the above voter.  Again, Santorum and Paul are afterthoughts.  Gingrich is interesting because he does attract some support in the base, but has enough moderate views that he could do well enough in the suburbs, so as to take support away from Obama.  His problem is that most women think he’s a bit of a scumbag.

As you can see, none of these candidates fit the bill.  But, as stated above, an Obama re-election would be a complete disaster for the country.  Therefore, I am resigning myself to the reality that we will probably have to support someone that is not that conservative in order to deprive Obama from his goal of “fundamental transformation.”  Voting for a Romney, Huntsman or Gingrich is kind of like eating a TV dinner.  It’s not terribly exciting, but it’ll get the job done.

I am not suggesting that you vote for anyone in particular.  That is a matter for you and your conscience to decide.  What I am suggesting is that, whoever wins this nomination, we galvanize our support for that person, as any of these people would be dramatically better than the Statist in Chief.  Also, I would suggest that we turn our attention to making sure we elect enough conservatives to the House and Senate that repeal of Obamacare is virtually assured.  I would also suggest that we, as conservatives, unite behind a truly conservative choice for Speaker (Paul Ryan, for example) and Majority Leader (might I suggest Jim DeMint).  As I see it, with a conservative-led House and Senate, Romney, Huntsman or Gingrich would probably be good enough as President.

Just a suggestion.

I am not a biblical scholar.  I’ve read some verses, try to be a good Christian, etc.  One of my favorite parts of the Bible is not judging, lest ye be judged.  It is an admonishment against being a hypocrite.  It is, perhaps, one of the most valuable lessons in the Word.  That said, the society in which we live seems to breed hypocrisy.  It is prevalent in our media, our culture and our politics.  Unless we, as a society, have the intellectual and moral honesty to confront and combat it, it will surely end our society.

What brings this to mind is the scandal surrounding the Penn State Football team and its former coach, Joe Paterno (It feels weird even typing former coach and Joe Paterno together).  Since the days of LBJ, Paterno lead the Nittany Lions on the field and Penn State University off of it.  He took a football program, which no one cared about, and transformed it into a perennial powerhouse.  In so doing, he took an agricultural university and transformed it into a world renowned research university.  During his tenure, roughly 84% of his players graduated in 4 years, which is unheard of in major college football.  His former players, to a person, often say that he was a father or grandfather figure to them.  It is clear that Paterno was, overwhelmingly, a profoundly positive influence on the young men he coached and the university he served.

However, there was also the negative side to Paterno.  At Penn State, it was Joe’s way, or no way.  The many athletic directors, trustees and university presidents that served during Paterno’s tenure were but figure head leaders, who subjected themselves to the whims of the football coach.  These individuals allowed Paterno his excesses because he brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, annually, to the university.  Paterno single-handedly made Penn State a brand name in the same vein as Notre Dame, Duke and other NCAA powerhouse schools.  For that, the university board of trustees ceded absolute power over the university to a football coach.

Paterno’s absolute power and the corruption it ultimately fostered allowed a depraved, repugnant sexual predator to terrorize dozens of young boys, murdering their innocence.  The insularity of Penn State allowed those who should have done something to save those children, including the university administration, the athletic director and Paterno himself, to simply turn a blind eye to the horrors that were occurring within their program.  In the end, a good man was brought down by his own moral failing.  In attempting to protect his university, he burned it down.  That is the yoke Joe Paterno must carry for the rest of his days on this planet.

After Paterno was fired, ESPN broadcast images of students rioting on campus.  The inebriated college students turned over a news van, threw rocks and turned one of the most stunningly beautiful college campuses in America into Occupy State College.  It is ironic that the students, in an attempt to support the football coach, participated in behavior that the coach himself would not support.

Over the next several weeks/months, more information will come out and many will try to castigate the Penn State community and, to a large extent, such castigation will be justified.  That said, this is not a Penn State problem, in so much as it is an American problem.  The reaction would have been the same at Duke had this happened to the Basketball team and Coach K.  The reaction was largely the same when Bill Clinton violated an intern with a cigar.  We, as people, have an amazing ability to gloss over the misdeeds of people who are on “our side.” 

We, as people, are the hypocrites the Bible admonishes us not to become.  What’s worse, we do so for reasons of sports, entertainment, politics.  Too many people are willing to sacrifice morality for winning.  If this does not change, it will be what destroys us. 

There is right and there is wrong.  There is just and there is injust.  There is moral and there is immoral.  There is good and there is evil.  We must have the intellectual and moral honesty to call each by their name, even when its “our guy.”  That lesson was brought home for me this week, when a good man’s awful lapse in judgment destroyed six decades of good works.  So, in an effort to hold myself more accountable, I state unequivocally that, despite all of his great works and dedication to Penn State University, Joe Paterno deserved to be fired immediately.  I pray for the victims and their families.  Let justice be done to all who are responsible.  If that includes a man I have admired since childhood, so be it.  There are things more important than football, entertainment and politics.  The most important thing is my soul and I will not sell it by looking the other way when one of “my guys” does something wrong.

The poet laureate of my generation, Mike Tyson, once famously said “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”  This breathtakingly accurate axiom is on full display as we watch Herman Cain’s campaign flail after being punched in the face.  So far, Mr. Cain is demonstrating that he cannot take a punch.  Therefore, he should not be our nominee for President.

At the outset, I confess to being on the Cain Train.  There was much I liked about 9-9-9 and found him to be a reasonably intelligent problem solver who would surround himself with really good people who were knowledgable in their respective field, just as he did when he was in the business community.  After the current sexual harassment debacle, I can no longer hold on to such an assumption.

I want to make it clear that my gut instinct is that he probably said some inappropriate things to these females.  My gut instinct also leads me to believe that the settlements were made primarily to save litigation costs.  When these events allegedly happened, the National Restaurant Association was a top 25 lobbying group, worth hundreds of millions.  A credible sexual harassment suit brought against the CEO of the NRA, in the wake of the Clinton scandals, would have been worth millions and there is no way that an ambulance chasing trial lawyer would have passed up his 1/3 of such a verdict in exchange for $35-$50k.  Thus, my instinct is that there isn’t much there there.  In the ensuing decade of wardrobe malfunctions, South Park, Family Guy and Two and a Half Men, our society at large would likely not consider bawdy jokes in the work place a capital offense, especially if there was evidence that Cain does not engage in that behavior now.

Also, it does bother me that this appears to have come from one of his rivals for the Republican nomination.  We are supposed to be the party of ideas.  These kinds of dirty tricks are the province of the Clintons, Emanuels, Carvilles of the world and we, quite frankly, are better than that.  If either Romney or Perry were behind this, I think it would speak to their character, or lack there of and I would have a hard time manning the phones or pounding the pavement for such a candidate.

With all of that said, Cain and his campaign should have been prepared for this.  Cain knew that this might come up in 2004 when he ran for the Senate, what’s to make him think this wouldn’t have come up when running for PRESIDENT!!!  He has had at least 8 years to think of a story to tell when, not if, this issue ever came up.  His failure to anticipate this attack leads me to wonder how he would be able to anticipate other political attacks against him, or anyone he would nominate (VP, Cabinet Secretary, Supreme Court Justice) were he to be the nominee/President.  Politics is a rough and tumble game.  For him not to see this Mack truck coming down the proverbial pike is naive at best, unintelligent and disengenuous at worst.  He has demonstrated disasterous political instincts, which is vital to governing this country.

Further, the performance of his staff in the wake of this calls into question his ability to hire good operators.  Mark Block and the rest of Cain’s campaign team have been utterly embarrasing in their performance.  If Cain told his Senate campaign staff about this, it is likely that he told his PRESIDENTIAL staff about this.  Their inability to see this coming, and to appropriately prepare for such, shows that they are incompetent at best.  If this is the level of competence with which Cain surrounds himself when running for President, I have no confidence, whatsoever, that he would hire people who were less disasterous when governing as President.

I want to reiterate that I like Herman Cain.  I think he is a good person, with a great story to tell about the success one can achieve in America with hard work and a good attitude.  I believe that he has a lot to contribute to the cause.  However, given his awful response to this “scandal,” as trumped up as it probably is, betrays a frightening lack of political instincts and ability.  This lack of ability and instincts are disqualifiers for the nomination of the Republican Party for President and the Office of the President of the United States. 

Sad to say, but the Cain Train has derailed.  Time to look for alternate transportation.

I’d like to take this moment to express my joy that the murderous, dictator thug Qaddafi has been shot in the face.  As awful as the pic was to view while eating lunch (a Subway meatball sub, no less), I rather enjoyed the pic of one of the world’s most brutal, evil men becoming worm feast.

That said, I will NOT be one of those who gives credit to Obama, as he was as useful to this exercise as he was to the BP Oil Spill.  Sure, he talked a good game.  It’s real easy to talk a good game while leading from behind.  The fact is that this is more Bush’s victory than it ever will be Obama’s.  Here’s why:

After the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of another murderous, dictator thug, Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi voluntarily gave up his nuclear/chemical/biological arsenal as he was smart enough to read the handwriting on the wall and figured that he was next on the list.  Had Bush not decided that Hussein needed to go (a decision which, at the time, Secretary of State Clinton and VP Biden agreed with), Qaddafi would likely have had enough nuclear/chemical/biological weapons to stave off the revolution that resulted in his head becoming air conditioned.  So, while Obama risks tearing his rotator cuff patting himself on the back, I hope that a ridiculously underappreciated ex-President is sitting in Dallas feeling vindicated.  This is his victory, period.

As an aside, since Obama is friends with both Rev. Wright and Farrakhan and Wright and Farrakhan were BFF’s with Qaddafi, I wonder if Michelle stopped by the Hallmark aisle at Target to get a “Sorry to hear about your dead evil terrorist dictator friend” sympathy card?  Does Hallmark even make a card for that?

At the outset, I would be remiss if I did not disclose that I voted for Mitt Romney in the NJ primary in 2008.  Generally, I think that Romney is probably a decent guy, with a good moral compass.  I’m also convinced that he probably knows more about the economy than any of the other GOP presidential candidates.  That said, after last night’s debate, I am convinced that Mitt Romney will NOT be elected President in 2012.

As stated above, Romney is probably a decent guy, with a good moral compass and a superb knowledge of the economy.   However, all you need to know about Romney was summed up, in the debate last night, when he said “I’m running for office, I can’t have illegals working for me.”  That is, of course, an obvious observation.  However, it also crystalizes what many in this party, who have been studying the candidates, have been sensing for awhile and that is that Romney is a bit of a weasel.

It is one thing to change one’s mind.  I believe that most people could buy his explanation about becoming pro-life.  I also believe that most people could look the other way with regard to a lot of Romney’s flip-flops.  But that one phrase is so damaging that I am not sure how he recovers, because it is a window into his thinking.  Namely, he gives the impression, real or otherwise, that he is nothing but an opportunist who will say and do anything he thinks he has to do to win.  People hate that.

If you think that this isn’t a problem, I would refer you to the 2004 presidential election between President Bush and John Kerry.  If you recall, all of the numbers were trending against Bush.  People were becoming dissatisfied with Iraq, the media were running stories about how bad the economy was, which was convincing a lot of people that we were heading into a recession.  Bush ultimately won, but by a very slim margin.  I would suggest that, were Kerry not such a weasel, he may have won that election.  However, Karl Rove and the rest of the re-election team were able to accurately portray Kerry as someone who sold his Navy commrades out, accusing them of war crimes, to further his political career.  Coupled with  his numerous flip-flops, it was easy to paint Kerry as a weasel.

Granted, Romney didn’t marry a widow who happened to inherit a ketchup fortune, but it doesn’t matter.  Last night, Romney gave his primary opponents, and Team Zero, the soundbite they needed to tie the whole “weasel” thing together.  My guess is that it will not take much effort to hang the weasel label on Romney, making him virutally un-electable in the general election.

Some on this board may say that, it doesn’t matter because Zero has been so utterly terrible that the American people will reject him.  Some may say that Zero has betrayed himself to be a neo-Marxist, rather than a moderate as he portrayed himself in 2008.  Those are valid points.  However, it is never enough to run for President (or any office) as “Not the Other Guy.”  People don’t want to vote against someone, they want to vote FOR someone.  I do not believe people will knowingly vote for someone they perceive to be a weasel and if you don’t think that the Obama team and their sycophantic lemmings in the media won’t convince independents of Romney’s weasel-like tendencies, then you’re deluding yourself.

I’m not sure what the next step is.  I still like Cain, still like Newt and Perry showed me something last night (finally).  If Huntsman wasn’t also a weasel, I’d take a look at him too.  The bottom line is if we nominate Romney for President, I believe we lose the general election and Obama gets four more years to fundamentally transform the country.  If that happens, I suggest we all pray really hard for the continued good health of Justices Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, Alito and Chief Justice Roberts, as they may be liberty’s last refuge.

All that said, if Romney is nominated, I will vote for him.  However, my volunteer efforts will be directed to the House and Senate races.  In NJ, my state senator, Joe Kyrillos, is probably going to run for the U.S. Senate.  I know the man personally and will be excited to help him take down Menendez.  Likewise, in my congressional district, my understanding is that Anna Little will be running to unseat Pelosi’s lapdog, Frank Pallone.  My reason for concentrating on House and Senate races if Romney is nominated is simple:  I believe Romney will lose to Obama and the Congress will be our only hope to stop the “fundamental transformation” of our country.

Last night, Harry Reid changed the game, or at least the motivation behind the game.  As many of you know, Reid invoked the nuclear option in the Senate, doing away with the filibuster.  It is now imperative, more than ever, that we elect a conservative majority to the Senate in 2012.

By changing the rules, preventing amendments after a filibuster, Harry Reid has broken the seal on changing rules in the future.  Further, he’s not getting taken to task for it that much in the media so far.  Therefore, Reid will be emboldened to change more rules, including ending the filibuster entirely.  This development has the potential to cause catastrophic results for the country.  Primarily, the issue of judges comes to the fore. 

Should Zero win re-election, he will likely have the opportunity to replace at least one, probably two, Supreme Court Justices.  One is Ginsburg, which would be replacing a liberal statist with a liberal statist.  The other is Kennedy.  While some on this board may not like Kennedy that much, he is much, much better than any nominee that Zero would replace him with.  Add to that, the belief in some legal circles that the next President will be able to appoint almost half of the Circuit Court judges, and you have a recipie for disaster if Zero wins and the statists retain control of the Senate.

So, while everyone is focused on the race for the GOP nomination, which we should be, let’s not lose focus on the Senate.  We have a remarkable opportunity to win the majority in the Senate next year.  We must pull out all the stops in order to ensure that we have a conservative Senate, conservative House and a conservative President.  If Obama and Reid are still controlling the path to the Federal Bench on January 20, 2013, the game is over and the constitution will have lost.

Yesterday, Steve Jobs passed away.  Despite his liberal tendencies, Jobs exemplified that most basic of conservative tenets…that being a profound belief in the power of the individual entrepreneur to make America better.  As most of us know, Jobs started Apple in his garage in the mid-1970′s.  Prior to that, he took advantage of any opportunity to learn and master his craft: working for Atari, attending free seminars at Hewlett-Packard and auditing courses in college.  He never stopped learning, never stopped pushing, even when he had achieved the very top of the ladder in his industry.  He was one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American History and, in a time where entrepreneurs are attacked from the heights of the Federal Government, I thought it appropriate to celebrate Mr. Jobs as an example of the greatness of America.

As stated above, Mr. Jobs started Apple out of his garage and grew that company until an internal power struggle forced his ouster.  Rather than look for a government handout or a trial lawyer to sue somebody, he again took a risk and formed NeXT computers.  In 1986, he leveraged NeXT and took another risk, purchasing a small company owned by LucasFilm that did computer graphics.  That company became Pixar, which has produced some of the best movies of the last 15 years (my nephews are addicted to Cars).  In 1996, Mr. Jobs returned to Apple and proceeded to revolutionize digital technology through the IPod, IPhone and IPad.  He also created the ITunes Store and continued to develop cutting edge personal computer technology.  His contributions to the way we communicate put him in a class with Guttenberg, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, Marconi and Al Gore (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Although a committed liberal, Mr. Jobs’ example is one which should be taught in every school in America.  Mr. Jobs never sought a government handout.  He never tried to sue someone for some perceived slight.  Although an adopted kid, he never went on Oprah and cried about his real parents not loving him.  He simply chose to overcome whatever roadblock was put in his way.

As I look out on Wall Street (I live across the Raritan Bay in New Jersey) and see the demonstrators, I can’t help but be amused at the contrast between Mr. Jobs and the protesters.  They complain, he never did.  They demand handouts, he never did.  They refuse to work, he epitomized hard work.  Although aligned politically, Mr. Jobs and the protesters could not be more different.

So, putting political differences aside, I’d like to say thank you to Steve Jobs.  Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for demonstrating what is possible in America.  Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for showing your fellow Americans that with a little ingenuity and a lot of hard work, dreams are attainable in America.  Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for reaffirming what we, who peruse this site regularly, already know…that the greatest force for freedom, liberty and economic security comes not from the government, not from a bureaucrat, but from the courageous American entrepreneur who risks everything, without the benefit of a safety net, to achieve their dreams and, in so doing, provides a livelihood for so many people.  You, Mr. Jobs, are an example of what makes the United States of America the greatest force for freedom, liberty and prosperity the world has ever known.

You started with a dream in a garage and ended up revolutionizing the world.  Congratulations on a life well lived, Mr. Jobs.  May you rest in peace.