An Urgent Message

to all political pundits predicting who can or cannot, will or will not win the 2012 presidential election:

Take a deep breath. Read a little history. Then shut up.

Everything we are being told is wishful thinking, imaginings from fantasy land, or, perhaps, deliberate spin in hopes of influencing election results.

Just check the elections in my lifetime. In 1936, Roosevelt was completing his first term. He had brought us more than a dozen failed government programs. Kansas' Governor Alf Landon ran against FDR as the Republican candidate. The only polling of the day, conducted by The Literary Digest, predicted a Landon win by a landslide. Roosevelt won.

FDR died in 1945. V.P. Harry Truman became president and ran for reelection in 1948. Even on election day, everyone thought Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas Dewey. The Chicago Tribune famously published a headline proclaiming a Dewey win. Truman won.

In 1960, Richard Nixon, a former U.S. Senator and Vice President under the popular Dwight Eisenhower, was favored to win over the young Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy. Kennedy won.

Following the first Gulf War, George H. W. Bush had approval ratings in the 90% range and was considered unbeatable in the 1992 election. The economy took a cyclical downturn and an unknown governor of a small southern state, William Jefferson Clinton, defeated Bush.

Even after election day we may not know the winner in November 2012. Recall how long it took in 2000 when Al Gore's on-again-off-again concession delayed the inevitable win for George W. Bush.

When Barrack Obama announced his candidacy, even the respected columnist Dr. Charles Krauthammer scoffed. His comment, almost word for word, was "Many Americans, myself included, would like to see an African-American elected to the presidency, but this inexperienced candidate has no chance of winning." As the canned tuna people would say, "Sorry Charley"! Obama won.

So, hang onto your TV remote. Every time a learned pundit starts telling you what the election results will be, change the channel!