For the first time in well over a decade there is optimism in the air. The stock market has reached new highs. The dollar has regained its strength. Even the timid Federal Reserve finally appears ready to raise interest rates.
While the latter most certainly will have a short-term negative effect on the stock market, most Americans are beginning to feel that there is a high probability they will be better off than they have been in quite some time. And this optimism extends well beyond the economy.
The majority now feels that law and order will be restored at our borders, in our cities and throughout our broken judiciary. We also feel that our nation will regain its self-respect. We expect the U.S. military to be rebuilt and that, once again, we will have peace through strength.
Prior to Election Day, this nation was more divided than ever before. Nevertheless, 51 percent of us now feel more confident in President-elect Trump's ability to lead us than we did before going to the polls. That includes 95 percent of Trump voters, but even more surprising, 19 percent of Clinton voters.
While a certain amount of optimism following the election of a new president is to be expected, given Trump's high negatives, this is a dramatic turnaround.
Could this be because the bombastic, egotistical Candidate Trump has shown a large amount of grace and graciousness as President-elect Trump? Could it be because Trump has announced that he will take no salary for serving as the nation's CEO? Could it be because of the men and women Trump has selected for his White House staff and his Cabinet? Or could it simply be that Americans are beginning to realize that there is a big difference in having a businessman lead the country rather than a career politician who has never held a real job, or simply one who managed to hang onto the coattails of such a politician.
Trump's willingness to meet with and consider those who were not in his camp during the campaign – some of whom were adamantly opposed to his candidacy – for top spots in our government shows him to be a man who is more interested in results than personalities.
A businessman is interested in the bottom line, not good intentions or feelings. A politician never worries about the bottom line. He or she simply runs up the nation's credit card or raises taxes.
A businessman has to keep his word in order to succeed. A politician simply blames the system or the opposing party.
A businessman cares about waste and a bloated bureaucracy. A politician never worries about spending the taxpayers' money wisely, only getting the votes of those dependent on the bureaucracy.
A businessman cares about cost overruns and is not afraid to cancel a contract if he feels there is price gouging going on. A politician only cares about the size of his next campaign contribution from the individuals that run the company doing the gouging.
A businessman must do what he says he will do or his credibility is lost. Investors keep score, and they want a good return on their investments. A politician depend on the short-term memories of voters who simply keep re-electing "incumbents."
It does appear that President-elect Trump is ready to run this country like a business. If he does, his charter will be the Declaration of Independence, his bylaws the U.S. Constitution.
There is reason to believe that Trump will appoint Supreme Court justices who are committed to upholding the Constitution. If he does, liberals as well as conservatives have nothing to fear.
If he does, the all-important separation of powers established by our Founding Fathers will be restored.
If he does, power not specifically given to Congress or the president will be returned to the states and its individual citizens.
Yes, it appears that we finally have a president who is well-qualified to assume the duties of the nation's chief executive. But its time that we citizens recognize that he alone can only do so much.
It is time that we the people begin acting like the shareholders of this great nation as the founders intended. We must hold the president as well as our representatives in Congress responsible for our bottom line: the protection of our unalienable rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which is just another way of saying a right to a life lived to its fullest potential.
Media wishing to interview Jane Chastain, please contact [email protected].
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