A tumultuous 2012, to say the least

(Page 2 of 2)
Romney is a good man, but his campaign was horrible. The Democrats did a tremendous job of painting him as a wealthy white male candidate who was out of touch with the average Joe, anti-immigration and anti-woman, caring only about the wealthy.

Romney was able to dispel many of these mistruths, but in the end that wasn’t enough. Couple that with a poor choice of a running mate, and you had a losing campaign.

Paul Ryan is a solid congressman, but his Medicare overhaul plan struck fear in the hearts of the nation’s elderly and cost Romney Florida and other battleground states. In retrospect, Romney would have been better off selecting Sen. Marco Rubio as his running mate.

Let’s hope that in 2013, now that he’s no longer a candidate, President Obama will move to the center and, likewise, Republicans in Congress will move in the direction that best protects the interests of our nation. Compromise isn’t a bad word. In fact, democracy calls for and necessitates compromise, instead of inflexible positions that result in gridlock and chaos.

It is my hope that in 2013, both political parties will see the wisdom in dealing with our nation’s problems in a forthright manner, and not seek to capitalize on their own interests for petty partisan reasons.

For many of you, 2013 will be a year of recovery. I will try to make it a year of reflection and patience. Coming from me, that’s a mighty resolution!

Long Islanders have an undeniable resolve and determination. Look for everyone at the beach this summer!

Speaking of people with resolve, the same could be said for Jets fans. What a nightmare this season has been. The Sanchez-Tebow saga has played out long enough.

I thank all of my loyal readers for reading my diatribe every week. I promise the same level of honesty and straightforward thinking in 2013.

Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comments about this column? ADAmato@liherald.com.

Page 2 / 2