It's that time of year again. The Democrats, have partied away the last couple days at their convention, and the Republicans are gearing up for theirs on September 1st. We watched as speaker after speaker made their way up to the podium to endorse Barack Obama in one way or another, as  an aura of “unity” not seen before in American politics, passed through our televisions. We watched as Nancy Pelousi announced Barack Obama to be the first African American presidential candidate in this country’s history, and we heard once original speeches tainted by Obama advisers with their interpolation of left-wing talking points, namely " McCain’s more of the same," "he voted the same as Bush 95% of the time," "He doesn't even know how many houses he owns," and the list goes on and on.
 
When they aren't talking negative though, the Democrats like to focus themselves on one major ethereal motif: Reclaiming the American Dream. It headlines the subtitle of Barack's book, it has been uttered in all of his speeches, and it has been included in the entirety of the DNC diatribes. It is a phrase that has fueled the campaign of the freshman senator from Illinois. With this message, he has garnered audiences not seen before in the political scene, proclaiming his messages of hope and change to his varied group of disciples.

There are two parts to analyzing the meanings of Obama's shibboleth. First, what is Obama's interpretation of the American Dream, and what is its true meaning? Second, is it flawed, and does it need to be restored?

"On the other hand, Americans also believe that if we work full-time, we should be able to support ourselves and our kids. For many people on the bottom rungs of the economy-- mainly low-skilled workers in the rapidly growing service sector-- this basic promise isn't being fulfilled." This is a quote from Obama's book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. From what I have learned and read about Obama, my best summation of his interpretation of the American Dream comes down to this: He believes that if you live in America, you can get a job, and that if you work full time, you and your family will prosper. Now I inherently disagree with this. His belief, and it is reflected in the quote, implies that by simply existing, you and your family will be able to live a comfortable life, and that you have the RIGHT to live comfortably. You have no such right. He then implies that there is a promise from the government, that if you work full time, you will be rewarded. Wrong. First of all, the American Dream is relative to the person that pursues it. Second, never in this country's history has the American Dream promised results. It is a contract with the ideology of democracy that promises not success, but the opportunity to pursue it; not money, but the free market to attain it; and not prosperity, but the freedoms to maintain it. Obama’s problem, and it is a big one, is that he feels the Government has a role in maintaining the American Dream, a contract if you will, when no such obligation has ever existed.
Is it flawed, and does it need to be fixed? Of course, not. As long as the Constitution of the United States sits in our archives, the dream will press on. We will always have the ability to pursue our greatest desires and our most fantastic dreams, regardless of who is sitting in the oval office. The American Dream is attainable through one thing and one thing only: hard work. Not government handouts and redistributed money. For Barack Obama to preach that this dream is “slipping away” is an insult to our great founding fathers and to the men and women who lost their lives to protect the idea of America.
 
So what is Obama actually going to do, to “reclaim the American Dream?” He will completely eliminate the income tax for 10 million Americans with varied amounts of tax credits depending on the person’s situation. Right now, the top 50% of income earners pay 96% of the tax burden. Under Obama’s tax plan, we could see the entire income tax burden being paid by the top 50%, for as it is 40% of Americans do not pay income taxes. Those people are going to get a welfare check from an Obama administration. Ethically, this is unfair, seeing that this 40% has, in no way, earned this money. In hindsight, Obama wants to punish people who have found success by raising their taxes and redistributing their money to people who haven’t earned it. It is the un-American way. He calls his tax plan the “Making Work Pay” Tax Credit. Is it me, or doesn’t work already pay, you know, with a salary? Why do they deserve extra money? Now do you think that the 10 million Americans who receive this free, unearned money will work even harder to get themselves out of their situation, or do you think that they would become more comfortable in their situation with the extra money, maybe spend more time with their kids, or take off work early every once in a while? Obama’s plan is dangerous, for it entails unfairness, and a false sense of security.

So what do we need? We need a President, and no one is offering this, that is the polar opposite of Barack Obama.  We need a young leader who emphasizes the power of the community and the efficacy of individual responsibility, a man that understands that hard work leads to prosperity, not redistributed money. A president that promises to help the middle class, not by giving them money they don’t deserve, but by giving the money they earn its true value. A real leader would restore the value of the dollar, an issue that seems to never be confronted, through energy independency, through fiscal responsibility, through serious spending cuts, and through reclamation of a dollar value system. A real leader would strip the Federal Reserves of its power to levy interest rated at their whim, instead of allowing the rates to raise and sink according to the free market. We need a President that gives people a real faith in the security of their dollar value by restoring some kind of standard rather than the fiat currency we have now, allowing the Fed to create money out of thin air, which undoubtedly leads to inflation. And the list goes on and on. Our Government needs to restore fairness, by adjusting the rules, not by cheating.

We need a truly Conservative President.