Big Issues of 2008

These big issues will define the playing field for the 2008 elections and determine whether America rebounds or falls into decline.

THE ECONOMY. For the US to stay competitive in the world it will need to pay far greater attention to education. The brightest must have access to high-quality education at all levels. Vocational education must respond to the needs of developing markets. Societal attitudes will have to change to foster these priorities.

The middle class squeeze will have to be addressed. To accomplish this, tax and fiscal policy will need to find a better balance between workers (more than now) and investors (less). Deficits will need to be reined in to control inflation. There must be a more pragmatic approach to regulation, applying it where helpful to consumers while avoiding its excesses. People must be protected from predation.

A backlog of infrastructure restoration must be undertaken. Transportation, water, utilities and communications in particular need attention. Anyone who has been abroad recently knows the antiquated, inefficient and deteriorating state of America's systems compared to those of Europe, Japan and much of emerging Asia.

HEALTH CARE. All Americans must have access to affordable, high-quality health care. All the other developed nations have done this at an average of half the cost of our system. This is a necessity on moral and practical grounds, and it cannot happen without strong government involvement. The American people deserve and are coming to demand no less.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT. America needs an effective energy policy. It must be pursued with at least the importance applied to the space program on the 1960s and perhaps approaching the desperate urgency of mobilization during World War II. Our economy faces implosion if petroleum prices continue to rise as they have, and there is relatively little oil left to drill domestically. We simply must develop sensible alternatives. Government outlays and mandates will be required to achieve this.

The same holds true for the other side of the coin, the increasingly harmful effects of climate change caused by the infusion of increasing amounts of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. Global warming is already here and will continue to worsen. The US must join in the successor agreement to the Kyoto Accords. Drought, the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes, sea level rise and the mass extinction of species are currently underway. Mandates on fuel efficiency are necessary. Wind, solar, tidal, geothermal and truly efficient biofuel sources must be fostered. Mass transit has to be expanded. An increase in nuclear power generation must be considered. The next administration will have to take strong action. Voluntary targets are not enough.

IRAQ. The American strategic blunder in Iraq must end. It is a financial drain. It is degrading the effectiveness of our Army, Marine Corps and National Guard. It is the primary reason for our international isolation and a recruiting bonanza for new generations of anti-Western jihadists.

More than this, the mentality that led to the war must be expunged. We must not come to believe that the initiation of unprovoked wars in order to reconfigure the world to our liking is a fruitful, sustainable or ethical foundation for pursuing our international aims. That is a path trodden by many a nation throughout history, and it has invariably led to their eventual destruction.

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION. The U.S. Constitution must be followed. The principles it enunciates are the reason the nation was founded. We are no longer the United States of America but something else in direct proportion to the extent that our government violates it and that our society permits that government to do so. We must particularly adhere to its tenets on search and seizure, habeas corpus, the due process of judicial proceedings and the rule of law. The Executive must follow and obey the laws passed by the Congress. The next administration must repudiate and reverse the encroachments on the people's rights undertaken by the present one.