Nothing but Hope

Looking at empty storefronts at a local shopping mall, I wonder where the recovery is. I remember when Jimmy Carter was running for reelection that Ronald Reagan asked pointedly: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Can we say now that we are a stronger, safer nation than we were when George W. Bush was President? Is America's level of employment better or worse than when Bush was managing the country? Is the world more stable now after Obama fostered and encouraged the Arab Spring? Is Russia more or less of a threat now? Barack Hussein Obama's bill of goods has me much less hopeful about the future of the United States.