And my choice for president is, Barack Hussein Obama. I guess I could have used this opportunity to select some fictional character for this piece, but since we are in the throes of an election year, I decided to keep it real. Also, I feel this election is coming at a pivotal time in our country's history.

We have become a nation paralyzed by polarization. The economic crisis brought about tectonic shifts in the overall political ideology, which led to the resurgence of radical dogma. If history tells us anything, it is that in times of extreme downturns, those with extreme ideas take center stage. They thrive when the country is off balance and mired in crisis.

The message from these groups is always the same, just with an updated spin. They go on, ad nauseam, about how they have a direct line to god and thereby the supreme power to fix it all. If one cares to look just beneath the hype they will find the same old selfish, self-absorbed agenda, which, if allowed to be implemented, would lay waste to the majority of people in this country.

The tactics never vary. They rely on fear to drive home their message. Any talk of government programs for those in need is considered nothing short of blasphemy. They immediately whip out the old nugget of "socialism" and how we are on an expressway to hell if we do not decentralize our government. Everything is reduced to a bottom line and a spreadsheet where people are no more than numbers being pushed around from one column to the next.

Life is messy and anyone who says that they have all the answers to the complex problems of our society; that every issue we face has a neat and tidy solution, is either selling a bill of good or is seriously self-deluded.

As President Roosevelt said in his famous Four Freedoms State of the Union speech in 1941, "we must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests." This remark was aimed at external threats of the time, as we were on the verge of WWII. However, it is apropos for today's extreme factions who are seizing the moment. The seriousness of the internal conflicts being waged in this country cannot be negated.

To hear these uber-patriots (as they appear to see themselves) tell it they have channeled our founding fathers' exact blueprints of intent for establishing this country's governing body. I would ask that one be wary of those who tout absolute certainty and are filled with so much hubris.

This country has always found its strength in diversity and in its deep commitment to humanity. We have worked best when we worked together.

My concerns go far beyond this presidential campaign. I am deeply concerned about the undoing of so many of the hard fought rights and social progress we have made over the last fifty years; that we are, once again, having to revisit issues such as women's rights and basic civil rights of minorities.

Since the penning of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, we have been striving as a nation to live up to those principles. Even as he penned that historical founding document, he was the owner of slaves. We have a very checkered past when it comes to human rights and progress has come slowly and painfully. How can we remotely consider reversing our course and still call ourselves a democracy?

In Roosevelt's speech he reminds us of the "four essential human freedoms"

"The first is freedom of speech and expression ..."
"The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way ..."
"The third is freedom from want ..."
"The fourth is freedom from fear ..."

He goes on to say: "Since the beginning of our American history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. ..."

Again, this speech was directed to the world at large, but in doing so, he clearly defined our democratic foundations and what we as a nation would never allow.

Unfortunately, our Congress, as it stands today, reflects a growing lack of concern for the constituency it was elected to serve. It is all about power and who has it. No one is looking to the greater good no one is willing to yield for the sake of compromise. On the contrary, the extremists in that body are vowing to hold progress hostage unless their will is fulfilled. Once again, the bullies are threatening and shouting and causing destructive upheaval. A pre-school atmosphere reigns supreme in the halls of government; no one is playing nice in the Congressional sandbox.

While those on the ultra right would have us believe that they want a smaller, more efficient government; one that is basically there to serve as the protectorate of our national security and nothing more. They would have no qualms in setting about reversing our civil rights and imposing their will by seriously diminishing our personal freedom. This includes, but is not limited to, reversing laws that protect women and their reproductive rights. They would also set about dismantling Planned Parenthood and thereby depriving a large number of poor and disenfranchised women in this country of the medical care they need and deserve access to.
Theirs is a shortsighted, dictatorial platform with absolutely no concern for the well being and individual rights of women or of the majority of the American citizenry.

President Obama inherited the economic mess of the last administration and he also inherited the wars they started. The domestic house of cards that was barely standing when he was elected promptly clasped shortly after his swearing in. This is not an excuse, it is hard fact.

Consequently, he has spent the last four years engaged in triage where our economy is concerned and in the case of two ongoing wars. In all aspects of President Obama's presidency he has stepped up and taken full responsibility for any and all actions, whether foreign or domestic, which have occurred on his watch. He walks the talk and like Harry Truman he believes when you hold the highest office in the land the "buck stops here". That is what is known as personal integrity just in case those in the jaded political arena today do not recognize it. It is positively refreshing to see someone, for once, not bobbing and weaving their way around an issue, but instead confronting it head on.

I, for one, would like for him to have the next four years to see some of the fruits of his labor take hold. We are just beginning to see the first seedlings of recovery where our economy is concerned. To switch horses in midstream, I believe, would have serious consequences on our progress, especially given the aggressive and regressive agenda of the Republicans.

Trickledown economics has never worked. Expecting the American people to believe that faith and trust and fairy dust will bring about positive changes in their lives, is as foolish as expecting pigs to fly. I respectfully disagree with former Governor Romney that corporations are people. There is no benevolence in the corporate structure; it exists for the bottom line and shareholder approval. Those in its employ and below the waterline are merely cogs in the machinery.

No one is saying we should stifle free enterprise. However, to allow corporate greed to run roughshod over our economy to the extent it is doing today and leaving good people in bad situations is unconscionable.

I will leave you with President Roosevelt's final words to our Union back in 1941, which still resonate today. They were parting words, not only to the American people, but to the world about our commitments and above all our unity as a nation to a common purpose.

"This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose."

"To that high concept there can be no end save victory."