NOTE; This edition was delayed by and unexpected surgery to clear a blocked artery, which caused a small (fleeting) incident (stroke), from which I thankfully recovered rapidly—A special thanks to mt family, and the excellent Doctors whose persistent and rapid action made a huge difference in my life. I’m now a month past surgery, and recovering normally—thank God. It shows how quickly our life can change—in an instant—or forever!
Now on to the matters which impact all Americans' lives…and which are not belng well-managed by elected officials.
Our country is facing serious challenges ahead, and nothing is more important than the choice of o[ur elected leaders.
That is the topic of this edition.
GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP IS NO JOB FOR GLIB PRETENDERS—HERE’S OVERVIEW OF the TOP TEN BIGGEST CHALLENGES
1) Economy and consumers still surprisingly strong, but concerns & caution are creeping in more & more.
2) How consumers get info, make decisions, and sort out the noise from real issues.
3) Billions of smart phone users are more informed than ever—if they can sort out the facts from misinformation.
4) Economy is still growing but a recession looms as inflation causes consumer Morris’s and employer layoffs.
5) The housing buying/selling frenzy is cooling, but many mortgages still at 4%, making homeowners reluctance to sell & buy even as prices remain high. Offices remain empty as people prefer to work at home, including top management. What does that tell us?
6) Everyone thinks AI (Artificial Intelligence) has big risks along with big potential rewards, but no one has an effective way to avoid its abuse or misuse!
7) College athletics begins to behave like the big business it is—and catch the eye of regulators. It will not be pretty how it plays out. The bog money-making (TV) sports will dominate and the leftover crumbs will go to the dozens of other sports & athletes. It’s a shame, but not surprising.
THE REST IS A MESS:
8) Foreign Affairs grows as a high risk scenario with Russia—Ukraine, China—Taiwan & South China Sea, Middle East (Iran)—Israel and North Korea’s rash leadership create potential FLASH points, where belligerent Russia & China lead the threats of accidentally causing wars. Meanwhile, America’s defense is being badly underfunded and more the clueless Biden administration wastes money being concerned with Woke policies being more important than the American government leadership being ready to defend America’s global safety & security!
9) US Political (Lack of) Leadership continues to earn foreign ridicule as it uses Biden’s revisionist statements to claim that his inane policies are working. Trump vs. Biden in 2024 is a contest with no good choice of a leader. BOTH SHOULD BOW OUT, yet neither will! Perhaps it’s a rerun of 2016, Trump vs. Hillary, where the better choice was the “least bad” choice!
10) A failing leadership, headed by Joe Biden (Who retains his office because his potential successor is even worse). The Dems bench is weak, but their power of unity, backed by mainstream media is huge! The GOP bench is “overstocked.” Donald Trump remains the polls majority leader, while a dozen+ challengers (several better choices) split the remaining poll preferences. With both Trump’s current & past legal issues, and Biden’s (family’s evidence of corruption and conflict of interest, neither leader looks like the ideal choice for America’s future! But choose we must!
TOO MANY, TOO WIDELY DIFFERENT CANDIDATES with widely variable qualifications!
The GOP candidate list has grown so long, a shakeout is imperative. I don’t like Senators as Presidents. They are skilled at debating issues but less competent at deciding them— making tough decisions and taking action. Governors at least have governed—and made the “buck stops here” decisions! Consider them all (14 declared so far)!
KEYS *not having governed in a public sector role,
1) **Trump (former President)
2) DeSantis FL
3) Haley SC
4) *Scott SC
5) Pence IN
6) Burgum ND
7) *Ramaswamy
8);Christie NJ
9) *Brinkley
10) Hutchinson AR
11) *Hurd
12) *Elder
13) *Johnson
14) *Suarez (Mayor of Miami)
15) Ryan Binkley
IF the Democrats had any better, new leadership options I would have listed them. Thus far the Dems are sticking with Biden and Harris—incumbents that are doing a very poor job. No viable candidates are "on deck" to replace them and that's what’s needed). Biden’s cognitive decline, age and health concern are a big issue. Harris’ record as VP is one of doing nothing at all of consequence, including the jobs she was assigned (most notably to fix the border crisis.) That has become worse, not better. She has proven her overall incompetence, very visibly, and yet she is only one heartbeat away from the presidency—a terrifying thought.
THE KEY: Qualifications in leadership & managerial competenc. The first hurdle. This is no job for glib rookies or big talkers who aren’t doers.
First trim the list: if they have never led a governmental entity (state or big city), they are out. We tried this with Obama whose oratorical skills far exceeded his leadership & managerial competence. “Talking a good game”:is not the same as 'making and backing up big decisions, picking good people, developing plans and executing them.” This cuts the list in half and removes the least likely to succeed.
Donald Trump is way ahead in GOP polls—he’s a former president and has by far the most name recognition, and a loyal follower group in the 30%+ range. Enough to gain the GOP nomination, but based on past elections, not enough to assure his election.
He has an equally large intensely anti-Trump group, which makes his nomination a risky bet. In my opinion Biden—Trump choice is an undesirable one—a choice I don’t want to make. I’m going on the record to say I don’t like the Trump vs. Biden choice. Maybe it’s inevitable but both have lots of “dirty laundry” that soils their reputation.
I am however, very impressed with Ron DeSantis (leading the list, but far behind Trump). I’ve read his book, and heard his beliefs & positions, and listened to him speak about them!. I realize he’s a long shot with Trump so far ahead, but I really believe that DeSantis, paired with a strong VP candidate like Nikki Haley would be better for America. (No Democrat candidate is even close)!
DeSantis is going through a learning curve about how the media punishes honesty and common sense, but he’s learning fast. He actually does sensible things and explains why. If you disagree with him you can choose from a dozen others with worse track records, who have much weaker credentials, (except a lot of wealth to self-fund their campaigns)
Maybe it is Trump & Biden in a rerun of 2020's debacle of voting & election corruption, but I hope not. Both leading candidates have enough dirty laundry to keep the courts and (biased) media raging. (I hear talk of third party candidates and who they will take votes away from. A third party will make things messier, and in the end, nobody will be satisfied, which means a nation divided again.)
I’m not a fan of rich guys self-funding their own candidacy either. It comes across like buying an election, and even if they lose (and they usually do), it’s the wrong way to win! There’s several of them on the list. The best idea is to form coalitions with other candidates that build support, who will best serve the voters—"we the people!"
OTHER BIG ISSUES REVISITED:
—The USA has an ugly immigration mess thanks to Biden’s irresponsibility. The USA is skating perilously close to the edge of a mild recession. Worst case would be a slip into deflation, which the Feds inept financial policies will cause and be unable to cure!
—China is struggling economically. That will have an impact on the world. What will it be? Dangerous incursions toward Taiwan? Extreme but dangerous actions?
—Russia has a “Tiger by the tail” in Ukraine (with its growing list of allies). How can Putin save face and redefine a loss into an “acceptable outcome” without going nuclear. It’s scary!
—Iran and its allies in the Middle East will make trouble—especially for Israel!
—North Korea is a dangerous wild card led by a petulant juvenile narcissist.
—India is rising, but how will that change things? For the better we can only hope.
—Worst of all, the Biden administration is so full of incompetents and incompetence, it cannot lead or mange much of anything well.
—The Dems have managed to ruin many of Americas big cities, in ways they have no clue about how to fix! A debacle exists in most Dem run cities! It’s "poster boy," California’s Gavin Newsom has ruined San Francisco as its past inept mayor, and he’s on the way to ruining the state of California, without even messing his perfectly coiffed hair. God forbid he tries to run the USA,
Retail in America is going through a cataclysmic reset, which will litter America with dead Malls, movie theaters, and BigBox stores at which too few people want to shop.
The big four: Apple, Google (Alphabet), Facebook (Meta) and Amazon grow more powerful and influential—and not in a good way!
Who do you want to lead & govern in America? Who’s best and who’s worst options?
THINK ABOUT THAT QUESTION WHILE I PONDER WHAT TO COVER IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE ENTERPRISE.
With a “new lease on life,” I must make sure I use that time on important thngs—our three wonderful children who rushed to our aid, other family, many caring friends, that provide the meaning in life for the fjuture.
This is a future we will share with all Americans—and that includes the leaders we choose (vote for)—to replace the mistakenly chosen ones who are doing a poor job now, except for spending our country deeper in debt, while weakening it on a global.
I’m hoping we can be wiser and choose better leaders, thus the focus on issues and leaders in this edition. God bless all of you and God Bless the USA.
JOHN
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