Cover of Bedtime for Bonzo
Many people talk about the man Obama is competing against as unqualified for the presidency. They belittle his ability, his stiffness, his jobs, his religion, his wealth, and in general people don’t like him as much as they do the “Great One.” When I say this, I include Republicans and Conservatives too. They just don’t believe in the man one hundred percent.
This attitude began to have an effect on me during the debates. I listened and liked very diehard conservatives like Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum, and I really loved the government-reduction talks of Libertarian Ron Paul. All of their messages seemed more “presidential” than those of Mitt Romney. The constant down play of Romney continued to work on my mind.
One night, in a dream, my sub-conscious played a movie about an event that happened thirty-two years ago. America was in a terrible state. The economy tanked, interest rates pushed sixteen percent, and people were losing jobs. President Jimmy Carter was still unable to pronounce the word nuclear, even though he worked on a team to disable a damaged nuclear reactor while in the navy.
It was time to re-elect Jimmy Carter or to replace him. He succeeded in making the economy worse from when he took over four years earlier. His mission to rescue Americans held hostage by Iran failed miserably. The country was losing hope.
The candidate that challenged him was a loser. He had lost his first bid to the presidency four years earlier during the primary. His credentials to be president were somewhat lightweight. He served two terms as Governor of California. Before that his career included: sports casting, acting, leader of the Screen Actors union, and finally Governor. This man spent a good part of his working life as a Democrat, and eventually became Republican.
The facts were confusing and confounded me. How could an actor and union president lead the country as a Republican?
My conclusion came through much introspection. The country is in the toilet; the current president didn’t know how to make it better. His policies only made things worse, and there was no other option but to kick him out of office for new air.
I voted for Ronald Reagan even though I thought there might be better candidates somewhere on the planet that just didn’t happen to be in the race. The candidate whose claim to fame was a movie named “Bedtime for Bonzo” co-starring a chimpanzee, became my man. I followed my instincts that anyone would be better than another four years of Jimmy Carter. It was the best electoral decision of my life.
The man Ronald Reagan, who I couldn’t reconcile, became a strong world leader able to compete with the Russians and the evils of communism. He also knew how to shrink the government and lead the economy into a sixteen-year growth sprout.
Who knew during the campaign how great this man would become? I feel the same about Mitt Romney; I’m giving him a chance to make good things happen.
Filed under: Biography, Conservative, Election, family, politics | Tagged: Iran Hostages, Jimmy Carter, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, United States | Leave a comment »
