When Mr. Obama campaigned for President of the United States in 2008, he assured voters that he would bring the county together and especially quell the gridlock in Washington that had made it difficult for the United States Congress to pass important legislation.? But, instead, the discord in Washington is greater than ever and has spread throughout our country.? How did this happen??

I realize that I am not a political science major and as just a regular citizen who has never run for office I may be guilty of being na?ve and oversimplifying politics.? That being said, it appears to me that President Obama almost goes out of his way at sowing discord rather than negotiating agreement.? For example, as recently as his State of the Union address earlier this week, the President started out on a very conciliatory note, but before too long he began to make threats of what he would do with his pen if the Republicans failed to pass certain legislation.? And the next day he began making campaign-type speeches in different states degrading Republicans, and especially the Republican held United States House of Representatives.? Such verbiage may please his Democratic base.? It certainly does not, however, bring about any type of unity, but further fuels discord in Washington. Read more…

With Super Bowl XLIII only a week away, we are at the end of the 2013 National Football League season. All during the football season, but especially during the playoffs, there is much talk about the quarterbacks. For last Sunday’s A.F.C. championship game, the focus of attention was not so much on the two teams playing, but on the two veteran quarterbacks, Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. And the headlines in sports pages across the country on Monday morning were all about whether Manning could win his second Super Bowl ring after sixteen seasons, at age thirty-seven (old for a football player), and after going through multiple neck surgeries in 2011 and having to sit out that entire season.

Last Tuesday (01/21/14), The New York Times had this to say: “The Broncos’ Peyton Manning could become the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two franchises. He won Super Bowl XLI in 2007 with the Colts.” I would feel better had The Times story read that “Peyton Manning could become the first quarterback to lead his team to victory” and “He led his team to victory in 2007.” The quarterback is very important, but the quarterback alone does not win the game; it takes the entire team. Read more…