Who is the Republican who can beat O?

We are heavily into the presidential election campaign some 18 months in the future. The field of Republican candidates expands and contracts weekly.

The next to enter may well be our dear state governor Rick Perry. The successor to Governor George W. Bush, sporting a vanity haircut and having brought the state of Texas into billions of dollars in debt, the good man has decided to favor us with his candidacy. His declaration of a day of prayer to deliver Texas from the drought found millions on their knees.

His plan to develop a Texas infrastructure corridor supplying a vastly wide infrastructure corridor across the state to convey road, rail, pipeline and power traffic was met with hostility and alarm; especially when financing was considered. it was alleged by some that Rick had personal interests in the project.

Others feared their property might be lost to the project. As one local conservative put it, the Governor seeks to take our land away from us and then charge us for using it.

No way Governor Perry can be elected on his merits. I am told he is a nice person and I know he has sufficient support from wealthy business people to make a good stand.

The field as it exists today is not alluring. Romney leads according to most polls, but he has so little charisma and is, well, boring. Sarah Palin is anything but boring, but suffers from lack of intellectual credibility and high doses of grizzly motherhood.

One bright spark, but nothing else, is Newt Gingrich who announced his candidacy, then went off on holiday for a week or so, and returned to find his key campaign staff had resigned in his absence. Newt is book smart but street stupid.

The cast of characters goes on to include stalwarts like Texas' own Ron Paul, newcomers like Minnesota conservatives Tim Pawlenty who has announced and Michelle Bachmann who has not. Homespun former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee backed out; wisely in my opinion although he had a moderate following.

There are more, but then it is early days, isn't it?

O appears to be totally oblivious to the unemployment situation. While his rhetoric highlights the need for positive, focused and definitive action, his attention to duty seems to be directed elsewhere.

More than anything else, the lack of employment is damaging America and its citizens. Economists offer umteen reasons why unemployment is so high, but nobody appears to be doing anything to improve the situation.

Indeed, unemployment has been politicized to the extent that it is the dominant issue across America. It is destroying lives, devastating the economy and causing a general and untypical malaise characterized by helplessness and hopelessness.

We cannot seem to get out of this financial rut and nobody has the power and influence to make that happen. We blame the bankers, the Chinese, the President, Congress, businessmen, Wall Street, Labor Unions, the EU and anybody else who comes to mind for the lack of jobs.

Yet if the election were to be held today, O would win.