We win when we identify the issues; we lose when we say "me too."

I noted a concise passage in Mark Steyn's most recent column this past weekend, the following appeared:

The problems facing America – unsustainable entitlements, broken borders, nuclearizing enemies – require tough solutions, not gaseous Sesame Street platitudes.

One of the first comments following the online version of this column directly addressed this passage and attepmted to rebut each point:

The problems facing America are not what you disingenuously claim: they are not "unsustainable entitlements" but corporate greed, not "broken borders" but xenophobia, not "nuclearizing enemies" but bullying the world. . .

The point of my quoting from this exchange is to demonstrate what happens when we identify the issues that are destroying the U.S. The Steyn passage is very sobering. The leftist response comes across as silly. When we define the real issues in stark terms, the left is forced to sound silly or cede valuable ground to us.

But instead of focusing on these issues, the GOP presidential campaign will focus on the following "issues":

(1) "me too" on global warming.
(2) "me too" on socializing health care - [but not quite as much as the Democrats]
(3) Obama lacks "the experience."
(4) "me too" on rebuilding New Orleans.
(5) "me too" on "change."
(6) "me too" on fighting corporate "greed."
(7) Our nominee was a war hero.
(8) I want to be the education President.
(9) Etc. Etc.

When Obama starts promising the sun, the moon and the stars, I would rather talk about our unsustainable entitlement programs than try to mimic Obama's promises. We can't outpromise the Democrats. We can only point out the impending doom resulting from decades of already existing social programs.