Happiness is....

.....four more years!  I was not an Obama fan right from the start back before the 2008 elections.  In the NY primary, I voted for Clinton.  I felt she had more experience and therefore was the better candidate.  When it turned out to be Obama v McCain, I was unsure where to go.  Voting for a Republican would be hard for me, but McCain was the kind of Republican I could get behind.  I was still concerned about Obama's lack of experience.  Then McCain chose Palin as his running mate.  Game over.  Easy decision.  This time around, it was an easy decision from the start.  While I think President Obama has been only slightly better than average - I would say C+ to B- as a President, I think Romney would have been far worse.  His plans - when he would talk about them - were reminiscent of the days of supply side (aka trickle down) economics.  Those policies failed.  It just doesn't work.  I don't think the next four years are going to be easy.  We need to find a way for Congress to bridge their differences.  We need less concern about individual districts and states and interests and more concern about what policies help the country most overall.  I don't know how Obama supporters would have reacted to a loss, but I'm saddened by some of the ignorant comments I see from Romney supporters.  One such comment was "you should have to pay taxes to vote."  Okay - so college students shouldn't get to vote?  Stay at home moms or dads don't get to vote?  How about people who retired on a disability pension that is tax exempt - they don't get to vote anymore?  The comment was reactionary - thinking that all our problems are a result of those on welfare.  Yes, our welfare system needs further reform.  Yes, people take advantage of the system.  But does our welfare system need more reform than the tax system that allows very wealthy people to pay a lesser percentage of their income in taxes than the middle class, because their wealth allows them to take advantage of tax exemptions or tax provisions?  No.  Both need revision.   Our problems are not solely the result of one system or another.  They are the result of multiple systems and the refusal of our representatives in Washington (both houses here) to give up any of their programs or accept modifications to them.  There has to be give and take from all parties and, as I see it, there is mostly an attitude of "I'll take and you give"  and that just doesn't work.