The clock is ticking on the USA

We got another freebie recently when Moody’s, an American company that includes risk assessment and credit ratings, forecast a 10 year window before even they downgrade our Country’s credit rating mostly for our out of control benefits payments. Their present credit rating for the USA is the best, and has been so since they started about 90 years ago.

We’ve had other freebies, usually ignored to our peril. After we invaded Iraq, many Americans with some expertise kept saying our window of opportunity to win the peace and impose our will was closing until it became subjects like we have 4 months left before things will turn against us. In the meantime the bureaucratic frictions continued in D.C. without head knocking, and the windows closed until maybe the years-later surge strategy and some late applied head knocking could turn things around. And maybe it won’t, most likely, since the windows have already closed.

Now in the 2008 elections we have upcoming hints of those politicians who want to “reopen the windows of opportunity” that have closed for our Nation. Some of the words and phrases are so flowery and nice and inspirational and even to-the-point, that they are appealing. But too many of these politicians running at all levels, federal, state, and local, had their chance at leadership before these windows began closing, and no amount of talk, words, and phrases can reopen these windows of opportunity, nor even change credit ratings. These politician’s time has come and gone, though many may not know it. What our county can benefit from is future leaders who think about our National Interests, even if it is their version. What our country cannot benefit from is politicians (and their staffs) who try “manage” their way out of crises they and their national party helped create, as in now reacting to the closing of our national windows of opportunity, which too often occurred on their watch.

Those who avoided votes of position as a political ploy and used parliamentary procedures have especially frittered away what our country needs for leaders. And those that pandered with more benefits to citizens will be cut off, as well as the nation, when our credit rating changes within 10 years, and if we keep this up. And they had their opportunity, often called a requirement, to govern for our benefit.

A changing of the guard is called for, again at all levels, local, state, and federal. We can elect “leaders” who think about national interest as one of their considerations. We as a nation are still getting some freebies as in windows of opportunity. Now we need to elect those who will act on them.

Those parents who have been through tough love with kids understand all the friction and uncertainty about the process and outcomes. Nothing is certain. Future elected politicians and voters may be able to use this experience, though kids and populations are different. In the meantime, the clock in still ticking on the windows we still have left open.

Who could have imagined all this wonderful new world opportunity we voters and our elected officials could possibly be frittering away, with a countdown clock given us as a freebie. After all the USA is so rich in natural resources, and human resources. The USA and new world are so human. While we are destined to be the future (good news or bad inglorious news is still up for grabs), is the future some kind of idealistic English commune forced by politicians and their past idealism; or some kind of regenerative country forced by the youthful citizens with their own expectations? Leaving well enough alone (or even trying to improve it) is another course of action, by the way. The key point is that the voters are still in charge. And again, the clock is still ticking on the windows we still have left open.