Wow, so this is how it's done!
The election season was so disappointing because Democratic candidates couldn't seem to say in a simple, direct way why President Obama's policies have been good for the country. But two days after the election, a perfect example appeared, in the most unlikely place.
How's this for simple and direct?
All told, my family has saved $15,000 in the past year and will continue to save over $3,500 per year as a result of President Obama's new policies... Thank you President Obama.
That's not from a campaign ad, unfortunately. It's from a newspaper Letter to the Editor in ultra-conservative Springfield, Missouri. And even more unfortunately, it appeared in print too late to do any good (this time).
The writer, a husband and father named Jeff Riggins, thanks President Obama and lists 10 ways in which his policies have helped the Riggins family personally.
At the top of the list, Mr. Riggins thanks the President for the tax cut that Democratic candidates couldn't seem to even remember to mention:
Thank you President Obama for the following: 1. The tax cut 95 percent of working Americans received. Even though my tax reduction was only $30 per paycheck (multiplied by 24 pay periods) $720 annually is nothing to sneeze at.
Next, the homebuyer tax credit that the candidates also forgot:
- The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit allowing my wife and I to buy our first home (using a VA loan).
And do you recall hearing any candidates mention this, either?
- The cash for clunkers program, along with the new car sales tax deduction, saved us over $5,500 on the purchase of a dependable, fuel-efficient, and safe automobile. I am now saving over $66 per month on fuel expenses. That's $792 annually no longer going to countries that want to kill Americans.
I don't want to sample too much from the letter, but it's all great. He lists 10 reasons to thank the President, and they're all clear, simple, direct, personal, with actual dollar amounts included. They are real-life examples of how the Riggins family personally has benefited from the President's policies. This is how it should have been done. I read it (two days after the election) with my jaw dropping open, thinking, why am I reading this is a mid-size newspaper in an ultra-conservative city instead of in the New York Times or Huffington Post or Daily Kos? And why in the world didn't the Democrats campaign like this? Next time, next time, there's always next time.
Here's Jeff Riggins' Letter to the Editor, if you want to read the whole thing on the newspaper's website. Be sure to check out the (mostly ultra-conservative) readers' responses to Mr. Riggins' letter, and please add your own!
Thank you Mr. Riggins, for showing us how it's done.