Source: Boehner’s GOP Problems Complicate Deficit Negotiations – ABC News.

House Speaker John Boehner is about to begin another attempt at a grand bargain deficit reduction deal with President Obama, a high wire act in which he will be buffeted by demands from the White House as well as from House Republicans

It looks like total gridlock may again happen coming out the gate of the new year. Mr. Boehner in some of his words seemed to say that he was open to compromise but soon took those words back after some in his party chastised him. The sign of a real leader is someone who leads, sometimes even in opposition to some in his party. He does not bend, especially to the least common denominator of his party.
The leadership quality seems to be missing from most of our supposed leaders today.  No one seems to want to take the risk of getting out front and possibly angering followers in any way.  Obviously Mr. Boehner is afraid he will get kicked out of his very powerful job.  Almost everything in Washington is about power. Without the Speaker’s role he would lose the power he so relishes.

In some areas President Obama in his first term also failed to lead. One of the cornerstones of his 2008 campaign was to get universal single-payer healthcare implemented in this country the same as it is in much of the rest of the world.  We are about the only country that has allowed healthcare to put a stranglehold on our economy. The rest of the world has pretty much got that under control and therefore has an economic advantage over us in this and several other areas.

Instead of showing leadership on this goal President Obama twisted and turned at every challenge and as a result what came out as Obamacare was a mere shadow of what should have been done. President Obama just failed to show leadership. I am praying that he will grow a stiffer backbone in his second term.

If the Republicans want to continue to stifle any progress on the “fiscal cliff” then the President, if he chooses to show leadership, has a clear-cut way  of leveling out the “cliff”.  Just let all the tax cuts expire and then on January 1, 2013 offer new tax cuts for the middle class only.

We need leaders in this country. Right now all we seem to have are followers; no leadership often results in mob mentality where nothing good gets accomplished. Mr. Romney so terribly wanted to be a leader but that did not happen. Maybe he can yet accomplish that goal by pushing his party toward compromise. If they reject that leadership then that only tarnishes his party and not him. History will show he tried to lead even as a private citizen.

If we ever hope to break this gridlock of partisan bickering we will need leaders to accomplish that task. Sometime people just need someone to prod them into doing what they know is right. We need some leaders to do that today.  I hope our current ones will step up to the challenge.

I’m just a simple guy so what do I know…..