Throughout American history, in good times and bad, policy makers have always faced difficult challenges, choices, and final decisions.  American policy makers in 2011 face their own difficult challenges, choices, and final decisions.  What I sense is missing today among policy makers is a sufficient degree of seriousness, a sufficient degree of urgency.

If for example you’re one who is interested in America remaining the superpower, interested in America remaining a constitutional republic, interested in America maintaining a very high standard of living, interested in America being the home of the brave and the free, then the list of challenges confronting America is long and complex.  Taking on these challenges requires serious people working seriously.  Do you sense that among policy makers today?

One only has to look at how DC is handling our massive deficit and debt, China, and uprising in the Middle East to get a sense we are lacking serious leadership dedicated to assuring America’s greatness.

At the State of Union President Obama, while at once talking of the need to balance America’s books, then went on to list multiple new spending programs unrelated to wealth creation, productivity, or smaller government.  How can that be?  How can the President of the United States be proposing more deficit spending?  (I know, I know, he wants his new programs revenue neutral…I have some land in FLA for you as well).  Does he not realize how precarious our fiscal situation is?  Does he think the Treasury will be able to always and everywhere sell more US Treasury bills and bonds?  Does he realize he is weakening America?  Does he recognize the US Treasury is running a Ponzi scheme?

Is our President being sufficiently serious when it comes to our deficits and debt?  No, he is not.  Neither is the new Congress we just elected.

China is a Communist nation intent on expanding their influence within their region of the world.  Guess who is in the way?  Right, America.  Ballistic cruise missiles to sink aircraft carriers and stealth fighters for undetected attacks aren’t being built to take on North Korea. What military do you think the Chinese have in mind when they build weapons like these?  These weapons systems are being built to fight America for influence and control of the Asia-pacific region, for raw materials around the world, and for global dominance.  China restricts trade and foreign direct investment, it manipulates it’s currency to maintain huge export advantages, subsidizes exports by Chinese companies, requires greenfield investment and the transfer of technology through licensing agreeements in order to gain access to their consumers, steals intellectual property, restricts the flow of information for Chinese citizens, and uses their centrally controlled record level of foreign exchange reserves to buy influence in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.  We just hosted the leader of China for a state dinner in Washington, DC.  We have military cooperation deals with China.  We actually still send foreign aid money to China as if it were still a developing country.

Is our President being sufficiently serious when it come to China?  No, he is not.  Neither is the new Congress we just elected.

The uprising in Tunisia and Egypt have once again revealed a lack of seriousness on the part of DC policy makers.  Since Obama took office he has pushed away the sense of urgency related to America’s ongoing war with radical Muslims.  In 2009 Obama went to the Middle East with his hand outstretched to Muslims.  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now apparently on the back burner.  Softness, political correctness, the court room instead of the battlefield have become the hallmarks of Obama’s War on Terror.  The uprisings in the Middle East are being talked about in terms of “pro-democracy movements” and concerns over higher food prices.  OK, that is possible.  But, think about it more seriously, and other conclusions can be drawn.  What if the lack of seriousness being shown by the Obama administration is perceived as weakness?  What if the uprisings are actually Islamic takeovers of strategic players in the Middles East?  Not all revolutions end up like America’s.  Remember the French Revolution (1789), they got Bonaparte and no democracy.  Remember the Russian Revolution (1918), they got Lenin and no democracy.  Remember the Iranian Revolution (1979), they got Khomeini and no democracy.

Is our President being sufficiently serious when it comes to revolution in Muslim countries?  No, he is not.  Neither is the new Congress we just elected.

DC, it’s time to get serious; America is at risk.  The clock is ticking.  Our elected officials must, right now, stop worrying about re-election and get serious.  I don’t sense that.  I’m already getting donation requests from newly elected House Republicans.