The Board of Supervisors and the School Board are making hard choices, doing their best to maneuver the county’s ship of state through shallow financial water. People such as Frank Cardella, president of the Chesterfield Education Association, may speak of a “highly anticipated tax increase,” but to most people increased taxes are more dreaded than anticipated. Our leaders have heard the people, not the special interests. If only we could get our federal leaders to hear a little more and posture a little less.

Now that the health care summit is over, could we have a jobs summit or an economy summit? And what a health summit it was. When Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate Republicans, pointed out a two-for-one disparity between the time given to the Democrats and the Republicans, Mr. Obama explained, “I don’t count my time because I’m the President.” House Minority Whip Eric Cantor complained of the excessive length of the health care bills. The President told him displaying the massive bills was merely using them as a prop. Such dismissive mockery doesn’t build agreement.

Our professor-in-chief lectures us daily, proving that he and his teleprompter may be the greatest orator since Reagan, but he’s a poor communicator. How can anyone give hundreds of speeches over a year and then say the reason no one supports his program is because he hasn’t made it clear enough for us to understand? Either he’s saying he can’t communicate or he’s saying we’re too dumb. Maybe instead of thousand page bills he could give us an outline or a PowerPoint? Perhaps it’s time the professor hears what the people are singing, “Hey teacher, leave those kids alone!”

The vast majority of people want to keep the insurance coverage they have. Sure, it would be great to provide insurance for those who don’t have any, but if that’s the goal we could buy Cadillac plans for every person who needs it for much less than any of the trillion dollar projections for the nationalization of our health care system. So what’s the point? Why wreck what 84.6 percent of the people have to insure the other 15.4 percent? Buy them the insurance. Leave the rest of us alone!

The State of the Union speech told us our esteemed leader was pivoting away from the health care paradox to focus on reviving our flagging economy. Instead, we see the President compulsively fixed on taking over America’s health care system. The question is why? Once the feds take over health care, besides directly controlling up to 18 percent of the economy, the vast new army of wellness bureaucrats who will follow will have the power to interfere in the most intimate and personal aspects of our lives. What we eat, how we exercise, how we drive, what light bulbs we use and where we can smoke will all become health care issues.

People bought into the vision of “I’m Not Bush” standing between Styrofoam pillars spouting platitudes and avoiding specifics in the midst of an economic meltdown caused by lobbyist-advanced cronies and casino capitalism. George II’s answer to his pals sinking the economy with government-forced bad loans and toxic derivatives was to bail out the perpetrators with tax money from the victims. And what does Hope and Change do? Double down with a pork-filled stimulus boondoggle that’s essentially a slush fund to re-elect Democrats in 2010.

Now, as an anemic recovery lurches towards a double-dip, instead of doing anything anyone believes would actually help, he’s banging the health care drum like a political rain man.

Is it credible to believe that a team of political operatives who had the finesse to sell a catchy phrase with smoke and mirrors can’t hear Americans shouting, “We don’t want this, we want that!” This makes no sense. How do political savants turn into tone-deaf conductors, colorblind painters and tangle-foot dancers? Mistakes of this magnitude do not occur innocently. Almost every political pundit in the nation is endlessly chattering that the Democrats are following the President like lemmings off a midterm cliff, and yet the White House organization is focused like a laser on nationalizing health care. Leave it alone! Move on. Allow freedom to fix the economy before unsustainable debt sinks the ship of state.

Americans want the economy fixed. This isn’t rocket science. Economic geniuses such as Hayek and Friedman and political leaders such as Coolidge and Reagan charted the course years ago. Fixing the economy is simple: cut taxes, cut the strangulation of regulation and get out of the way. Europe is sinking under the weight of its version of socialism and if we make America the haven of freedom, capital and talent will flock to our shores. If we don’t, all that capital and talent may well flock to the rising colossus of the East. Forget the health care take over, the photo-ops and endless speeches. We don’t want this we want that.

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion for Southside Virginia Community College and History for the American Public University System. http://drrobertowens.com © 2010 Robert R. Owens.