Presidential Candidates Make Empty Promises to the Gullible

I have to laugh as I watch the presidential candidates making empty promises about what they will do when elected or re-elected, as if they have free reign and shall serve as Emperor ... and many cheer them on, seeming to believe that their platitudes will become reality. Forget it!

The American people consistently vote for divided government, rarely providing control of the executive and legislative branches to one party. This is a formula for gridlock in today's hyper-partisan environment, in which most members of Congress vote to do what is politically expedient rather than what is appropriate for the good of the general public.

What are the chances that Republicans or Democrats will control the House and Senate and have a president of their party in the Oval Office on Jan. 20 2013?  History and current events tells us that it is extremely slim.

Even when the Democrats controlled the White House, the House and Senate for Barack Obama's first two years, they were unable to come together on legislation, not even demonstrating the ability to approve a budget!

I wonder if the American people are aware that the country currently continues to operate with no federal budget, rather with continuing resolutions that repeatedly extend temporary lifelines to avoid government shutdown. This has not stopped the spending spree, however; we continue to incur annual deficits in excess of $1 trillion and are spending $1 trillion more per year than we did in 2007, amounts which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Anyone that believes that the federal government will be able to operate efficiently no matter who is president next year is naive. Most of those who serve in Congress do not care about us; their interest is in continuing to feed at the public trough for the compensation, benefits, and power that they derive from it.

The nation is burning, folks, and those who purport to represent us are stoking the flames.