Haven't been here in a long while.  We are well into the election of 2012 which will pit President Obama against Mitt Romney.  As far as I'm concerned, Romney is no contest for our President.  It's a case of "crass" against "class"  or "gall" against "grace".  President Obama so far outclasses Romney it's a pathetic comparison.  The Democrats have finally started to show the backbone we the people have wanted, pushed by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Patty Murray and backed by the President's approval.  They have decided not to back down or take any more shit from the GOP.  Current goals are called "Off the Cliff" to let the Bush Tax Cuts expire for all at the end of the year and then begin anew to set tax rates and priorities.  I hope we will stare the GOP down and prevail, and it seems at this point as if the GOP realizes they have pushed their intransigence too far and will lose this fight.  Hoping for a strong showing for Pres. Obama against Romney, and praying for a filibuster proof Democratically led Senate, and control of the House.  In other words, a total repudiation of the Tea Party nutcases that got in office in 2008. Pres. Obama has done a good job, I believe, and I only fault him with being to willng to try to reason and cooperate with the GOP who have no interest of cooperating but only of protecting the wealthy upper class and corporations and basically the top 1% of the country.  To quote "The American President",  "these are serious times and we need serious people to deal with them".  We need to turn this country back from the hatefulness of the past decade.  The fear of the "other" the GOP sells like candy via Fox News, the pablum and mind-numbing effect of reality shows that glorify meanness and dirty tricks.  We'll see what November brings, but I'm betting on the American people standing up to the GOP and saying "no more"....we will have our country back and have it operate for the many, not the few rich.