This diary title expresses my political expectations of the canddates for the remaining debates, campaigning, indeed the next four years.
I can trace my disappointment in the first Presidential debate to seeing neither candidate espousing or defending positions and policies that protect my interests as a member of the middle class in the upcoming legislative battles against those who can afford to hire their army of lawyers and lobbyists. As a lifelong Democrat, I expected such from Governor Romney. As a lifelong Democrat, I was furious with President Obama for his passivity.
So, I looked to other Democratic standard bearers for inspiration and I remembered my one trip to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library back some 20 or so years ago. There was a Charles Guggenheim documentary of JFK's life that played in the library. In that documentary JFK quoted President Harry Truman, "There are 14 or 15 million Americans who have the resources to have representatives in Washington to protect their interests, and that the interests of the great mass of the other people- the 150 or 160 million- is the responsibility of the President of the United States, and I propose to fulfill it."
Which candidate will speak to the interests of the military family with a soldier in harms way and for that soldier once he returns home? Who will protect the interests of those depending on Social Security and Medicare for a little peace of mind in their retirement years? Who will protect a women's right to choose? Who will protect those of us with pre-existing medical conditions from insurance executives and their drive for profits? Who will give voice to Main Street and stand up to Wall Street when the next round of corporate excesses comes to light? Who will speak for the LGBT community's right to defend our country in the Armed Forces and marry who they love?
The vote I cast on Election Day will not fulfill my responsibilities of citizenship I have inherited as my birthright. I will have to engage my elected representatives on the issues of the day as the future presents them to us. But who wins this election will go a long way to determining whether my and your interests are protected and our voices heard. In the following month we will take measure of the men and women running to represent us and what direction they will take the nation. I offer this quote from President Kennedy on what that direction should be, " for the one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members. Let this be the measure of our nation."