It’s still very disturbing and shameful that it is reported that election polls predict the presidential race is too close to call and in some battleground states, including my home state Florida, Donald Trump is winning. Jesus, take the wheel.

Donald Trump is dangerous for America. He lies way more than what he has accused Hillary Clinton of doing and, if elected, he will continue the Republican Party’s practice of obstructionism and anarchy.

Regardless the presidential election result on the evening of Tuesday, November 8, 2016, the racism, sexism and class warfare will not go away. Jesus, take the wheel. 

Even after such a disdainful, hyperbolically nasty election season, I want to think America is better than the actions we have witnessed but is it? Jesus, take the wheel.

It’s apparent that Donald Trump will say, and likely, do anything in his quest to become president of the United States. He led the failed birther movement in questioning the citizenship of President Barack Obama, who is an American. He has referred to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as a communist when Sanders is not. He said he’s going to make Mexico pay to build a wall along the southern border of the United States to keep illegal immigrants out. Mexico's president balked at the statement. Trump has encouraged his supporters to attack protesters at his campaign rallies and offered to pay the attackers' legal fees. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump's campaign isn't staging some of the protests at his rallies just to distract his supporters (and the media) so he won't have to expose his ignorance of domestic and international policy issues.

Trump's dog whistle politics deliberately lacks the typical subtlety GOP candidates, and their surrogates are known for. He has tapped into the anger and fear of "poorly-educated" white Americans. He used that term, and the number of his supporters seems to continue to increase. Go figure. 

Let me translate Trump's slogan Let's Make America Great Again. The message...Let's make America White Again. Let's make America segregated again and put those minorities (and women) in their place. Please see MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's segment as she beautifully and skillfully exposes Donald Trump's Race War. 

In spite of this madness, Donald Trump's Republican opponents have indicated they will support him if he is their party’s nominee. What does that say about them? There is an epic leadership fail in the Republican Party. They choose to destroy the United States of America. They choose politics over people even if the people are the "poorly educated" Republican voters or other men, women and children in the United States. Including you.

"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

Okay, so let me get this straight, Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan as his running mate? The GOP ticket will be the out of touch elitist and the man who wants to dismantle Medicare and Social Security? If you're in the 99% and that doesn't shake you to your core, I don't know what will.

Photo: The Liberal Curmudgeon
 
Meanwhile, the reported reaction from The White House and the Barack Obama Campaign...

Photo: The Tribune of the People

All this back and forth conversation in the media about Sen. Harry Reid saying he has a source that says presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes is maddening. Romney supporters and GOP strategists making the news talk circuit are just so incredibly unbelievable. Invoking the number of income tax returns John McCain provided and even Ronald Reagan is just such a stretch and obvious show of desperation.

Gov. Romney can put a stop to the discussion by just providing the requested tax returns and moving on with his campaign. If he doesn't, the public will continue think he has something to hide. It's really just that simple and no attempt at deflecting the issue will prove successful.

Until Romney provides his income tax returns to the American voters, I believe Harry Reid.

The Republican race in Florida, is really down to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. They have beat up on each other in interviews and via advertisements. The momentum appears to be in Romney's favor with many established Republicans supporting his candidacy. Gingrich says he's in for the long haul even if Romney takes Florida. Romney has spent five times more than Gingrich and has the backing of high-profile Republicans, so one would expect him to be ahead by a larger margin than the polls indicate.

Regardless of who the winner is in this race in Florida, the negative campaigning has been despicable. With so many lies and partial truths being told, once again, I suggest you do your own research or consult with someone you trust is objective. Up next, Nevada!

President Barack Obama delivered a rousing State of the Union address last night that addressed a myriad of topics from the economy to education to healthcare to bipartianship and Republican obstructionism. When the President mentioned the takedown of Osama bin Laden early in his address, it was apparent that he was in the zone.

Some criticize the President by attacking his gift of public speaking others accuse him of being divisive. That's a shame. The President spoke to the heart of the issues that Americans face every day. He expressed the frustration that Americans feel about government and the partisanship bickering. The President challenged Congress to do their job.

Here are the video and text of the President's speech.

Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address

United States Capitol
Washington, D.C.

9:10 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq.  Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought -- and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world.  (Applause.)  For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq.  (Applause.)  For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country.  (Applause.)  Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated.  The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican Primary and Mitt Romney came in second place. Gingrich has effectively thrown enough red meat at Republican South Carolina voters to overcome Romney’s hefty campaign war chest and Gingrich's ex-wife’s disclosures about their marriage.

The outcome of this race is not entirely surprising. Gingrich’s ability to play to the public and Romney’s income tax issue and inability to connect with voters have set the stage and made the upcoming Florida Primary all the more important.

Romney has now only won New Hampshire after narrowly losing to Rick Santorum in Iowa. It appears Romney can’t rally the conservative base of the Republican Party so how long can he hold on before suspending his campaign?

As I watched the tablets fizz and dissolve --- did I mention they were Extra Strength Alka-Seltzer? --- well, I reflected on my day and realized no matter how horribly I was feeling, there was at least one person in the world that felt way worse than me today and that would be Mitt Romney.

Yeah, I know he has to be wondering what in the hell happened to his campaign? A few days ago, he and many others were so confident Romney would win the GOP presidential nomination, and ultimately make Barack Obama a one-term President, that they were already picking out the new drapes and rearranging the furniture in the White House. 

What a difference a few days make. The chorus of critics about Romney’s lack of transparency regarding his taxes and insensitivity to and insults about the American general public grew louder and louder and Romney’s began to erode. Then, it turns out, Rick Santorum was the real winner of the Iowa Caucus, at least that’s the way it’s shaping up thus far, and now Rick Perry is suspending his campaign and has endorsed Newt Gingrich. 

If there ever was a time it might be okay drop the F-bomb, this would be it. I mean, I don’t encourage the use of profane language but in my Chris Rock voice, in this case,  “I understand”. Man, oh, man, how could Willard Mitt Romney have been the heir apparent to the GOP presidential nomination two days ago and now he’s holding on for dear life? 

This presidential campaign is getting more and more interesting. So interesting, that I’m going to watch tonight’s Southern Republican debate rather than the Miami Heat and Lakers game. Who knows what’s going to happen next? In spite of this momentum change for Gingrich, he’s not exactly in the catbird seat because his ex-wife is dissing him big time. How effective she is in derailing Gingrich’s campaign remains to be seen. I’m going to get some popcorn for this reality show. 

The sexual harassment claims against Herman Cain that resulted in a financial settlement to the accuser in two separate cases, won't go away until he does. Cain's unexpected rise to the top of the Republican presidential candidate heap must be stopped by any means necessary and the takedown has begun.

Cain knows this sexual harassment issue could have reared its ugly head when he entered the presidential race and he should have been better prepared to deal with it. Perhaps he is just as surprised by his campaign success as the rest of us and never thought he would rise to the level of significance that would warrant disclosure of the issue.

As he rose in the polls, Cain should have expected and prepared for the public disclosure of the sexual harassment cases. And, in this supposedly post-racial America we live in, if his accusers are white, his campaign is toast. If anyone says otherwise, they are delusional or just plain lying.

Don't get it twisted, have race relations improved in this country? Absolutely. Is this still the best country in the world? Absolutely. But let's be real, racial issues haven't gone away and if playing that card helps one candidate win and another one lose, it will happen. Race is a hot-button issue and politics is a contact sport.

As the stickiness of this Herman Cain sexual harassment story continues, let's see if the takedown of Herman Cain will soon be complete or will he surprise us once again?