America’s deficit of leadership

In Washington D.C., no one is taking ownership of our problems.

We have a president whose lack of leadership is clearly displayed in his inability to lead through his consistent delegation of policy to his czars. Even more disappointing, we have a squabbling Congress that refuses to engage in civil debate, let alone attempt to solve some of the most pressing issues of the nation.

An example of this squabbling happened right before Thanksgiving break. After months of debate, the so-called bipartisan “super committee” failed miserably to agree on $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions in the next decade.

Formed in the wake of the Treasury’s credit downgrade in August, the super committee’s inability to compromise is proof of the lack of leadership that could deal another unconscionable blow to our nation’s balance sheet.

Like many of you, I am tired of it. And like many of you, I am yearning for someone to lead. It is obvious the time has come for our nation’s leaders to put aside their political labels and grievances. Instead of falling victim to blaming the “last eight years” or blaming President Barack Obama, someone, somewhere, needs to step up and have the damn courage to take ownership and lead.

Like it or not, I don’t see much changing in the nation’s political landscape for at least the next year. Given our current gridlock, coupled with the GOP presidential primary heating up in a campaign season that promises to dwarf 2008, there is practically no hope for the nation’s leadership to attempt to solve any of our problems.

What worries me greatly is that we might end up being victims of our own ignorance. Increasingly, our electorate is uninformed about the issues. This has made our elections more like a high school popularity contest and less about the character and leadership of candidates who will have the power to return our nation to prosperity or lead us into decline.

To even begin to correct this problem, you can do your part by simply taking a few hours out of your life and research. Don’t let some talking head on SNL or Jon Stewart do your thinking for you. Instead, make your own conscious decision about who you support by researching the issues and the candidates.

Any election has consequences, both in the short and long terms, and even though we may not agree on the issues, we have a duty to our republic to be informed voters and make conscious decision. If you don’t know anything about politics and are curious about learning more or have questions, I invite you to email me.

I am happy to use what limited knowledge I have to possibly guide you in the right direction. If you are a political junkie like me and want to meet for coffee and have someone to talk about politics with, please email me.

I will never pass up an opportunity for a good debate!

­— cjcaudil@indiana.edu