U.S. needs more than a year to rebuild

John Dombek, Santa Clara, Utah

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

For the past month or so I’ve received a pile of e-mail messages from different people that all have the same general theme, and that is: The president and Congress have done a rotten job. So this election year, let’s kick all of them out of office.

Obviously that’s a tempting suggestion, but what would you think of this alternative?

I’d like to suggest we keep the present majority in the House and Senate and give the Congress and the new president a chance to deliver on the promises he’s made. After all, Barack Obama has been in office for just one year, and he’s going to be there for at least three more no matter what we do.

So why don’t we support him and give him the opportunity to deliver? Kicking them out is like an athletic director hiring a new football coach to jack up a losing team, and then firing his staff because they don’t get it done the first season.

If we replace the congressional “Do Nothings” this year, we get revenge, but the entire country suffers. It may change the majority/minority balance, but that is also the problem. It gives an entirely new bunch of potential “Do Nothings” the opportunity to perpetuate “doing nothing” for the remaining three years of the president’s term, and they will “do nothing” because, as you know, politicians promise anything to get elected.

And as we have recently witnessed, those promises are empty. Why solicit new ones? There are plenty in Congress already.

So what do you say we give us and the country another chance at change this year by giving the president support for three years and allowing the Congress to do something? It is possible for Congress to perform, you know. Really! Anything is possible.