ARMORED CONFUSION

From Chicago, a contributor to the letters to the editor says the mortgage fiasco, is "another example of the personal greed... illustrated by families spending far beyond their means by using housing as a piggybank for their splurges. Those of us who have spent frugally for years in order to build a modest retirement living, forgoing fancy homes and new cars every year, are now being rewarded by politicians with a forced opportunity to help our ‘less fortunate’ neighbors who are swamped with the debt they have incurred while living in high style." Is this right? HECK NO! The improvident and irresponsible do not need their fellow citizens or the government to bail them out from their misfortunes. And we don’t need a Presidential candidate telling us to come together, to work together across the political and cultural divides in order to share resources in a socialistic society wherein my hard work and sacrifice - along with that of the Chicagoan - will be for naught.

From Washington columnist and author, Peggy Noonan says about the search for our next President, "We just want a reasonable person. We would like a candidate who does not appear to be obviously insane. We’d like knowledge, judgment, a prudent understanding of the world and of the ways and histories of the men and women in it." Is this right? HECK YES! Yet to Peggy, Biden, Dodd, Obama, Romney, McCain, Hunter, Thompson and Richardson are reasonable men. Clinton, Edwards and Huckabee are not. With each of the former, however, I disagree with Peggy. Actually, Ron Paul and Giuliani are typical of the entire lot of contenders because they are reasonable on some issues and insane on others.

From Chicago and from Peggy, the arrow points to me. I am eminently conservative and wholly reasonable. I am the metaphorical and literal embodiment of a down-to-earth, pay-as-you-go life style. My guiding forces are practical, possible and profitable. My common sense prevails without compromise. Like our much-maligned present President Bush, I hold a few unwavering beliefs. Both my personal responsibility and my rationality ( i.e. fairness, moderation, common sense, reasonableness) cut like a double-edged sword through the armored confusion of Presidential hopefuls.