How will Romney or Obama Unite the Nation?

The real problem here is not the issues or parties. It is the lack of will among politicians to be reasonable and rational. They can't do anything well while they refuse to communicate and only see each other as enemies to be destroyed. In the meantime, the nation suffers. That is the essence of division, and that is what continues to fuel the public hostility.

Behavior is usually contagious. We tend to migrate into the same patterns of thinking as those around us and those setting examples from positions of authority. The top "example setter" is government. When leaders act without honor or respect, it is the authorization and example for people and business to act without honor or respect. On the other hand, when leaders set examples of honorable conduct, the people will also begin to follow suit. While bad behavior is rampant both in Washington and among the public, the place to change the trend is at the top- Washington. These are also the people who have an absolute fiduciary duty to the nation, which is being violated every day by most of them without consequence.

It's not Obama, GW Bush or any single politician, especially Presidents. We can change Presidents every four years. It is Congress who makes the laws; the president does not have that power. It is Congress who determines what the loopholes will be and who will benefit. It is congress that sells itself to the highest bidder, and makes a fortune in the process. While we can replace members of congress at each election, it is always a minority of them, so the entrenched attitudes and nature of the institution remains solidly in place. It's like a poker game where cheating is an unspoken table rule. As new players come and go, they soon find they have three options- lose the game, leave the game, or learn to cheat as well as the others do. Honorable conduct is not even a choice.

There is an allowance in the constitution for the removal of any member of congress deemed unfit for office, but that power lies only with congress itself and requires a 2/3 majority vote. Thus, the power to remove a bad apple from the congressional barrel is in the hands of the bad apples, and therefore it never happens. When we throw some fresh apples in the barrel at each election, they are soon rotten too. To break this pattern, we need a way to change the conduct of congress.

You cannot force a person to change their character or values; that ability lies only within the person themselves. However, you can remove that person from a position of power, and that ability is presently in the wrong hands as explained above. There is a possible solution.

Members of Congress are employees of the federal government, not the state they represent. As employees who have taken an oath to serve the nation first and are subject to the ethics guide for all federal employees, they could be fired for cause. Cause meaning an act that breached their oath or the ethics guide, and revokes their qualification to hold office. Right now, there is no way to do this. But, what if congress passed a single law, creating an independent panel of citizens with the power to review conduct and fire members of congress for such violations? I mean a committee that was set up in a way that kept them influence free, and rotating constantly. Members would be drafted from the public, say for one year, and 1/4 of them replaced each 3 months. They would need to meet certain qualifications, and the draft could be refused by any person who did not want to serve. No hand-picked people, no chance for bribery or influence. Just Americans with no duty other than to watch and keep the members of congress honorable. In effect, congress would delegate it's power to remove by a 2/3 vote to the private panel of citizens.

Congress would not voluntarily vote to deprive itself of corruption. To get that law passed we would need what is called a super-majority, meaning so many voters insisting on it that refusal to pass it was political suicide for any member of congress. Because this concept would universally benefit all interests and parties equally, that majority is entirely possible.

Now we have a situation where a congressman can only retain his office if he fulfills the oath, works for the good of the nation and does not violate the ethics rules (which are actually quite adequate but presently have no teeth). The potential of such an institution is so far above what we have now as to be unimaginable. The America that would result from that kind of leadership would be better than ever before, top to bottom, for all classes of people and business. A monumental shift in the course of the nation, without damage to any issue or group that isn't already corrupt. Fix the cause of the disease, and all the symptoms go away with it.

The politician that cleans up the ethics issues in Washington is the one that can unify the nation.

You touch on the one reason I might vote for Romney: I think he has a better chance, and more inclination, to do what you describe, move to the center and pull the nation together. As I read Obama's character, he will take victory as a mandate NOT to cooperate with the right; instead, he'll demand that they must cooperate with him.

Either way, I predict an increase in taxes, by whatever method, and probably a deferral, rather than diminishment, of Social Security benefits. The Senate will block any bill to repeal Obamacare.

pegaus;

Lots of good answers. To reunite the US we have to agree on what has separated us from the place we were right after the events of 9/11/2001.

We have to only fight wars with consensus agreement, and the vote of the Congress.

We have to protect our borders, and eliminate the jobs stealing NAFTA agreement.

We have to provide benefits for manufacturing in the USA, and buying American made product. American made means made by Americans in America. The nationality of the Manufacturing company doesn't matter.

We have to change the tax code to eliminate deductions for those that don't need them, and means test, and require co-payments, for medicare, Social Security, and add work and time limit for government assistance.

We have to offer guaranteed, prepaid, retirement annuities, instead of government social security.

One more thing, the Government service employees, and elected officials have the same requirements, and benefits, as the rest of us.

These will be a start, and make everyone required to have skin in the game.

This country will never be united until we go back to the basics

We need to make the things we buy right here in the good old USA AGAIN!!!

We have everything we consume right here

Our government has made manufacturing companies move overseas to get away from over regulation

Until we give our people high paying jobs like the middle class had back in the 1950's

We are going to continue to fail!!!

Everything we buy is made someplace else

Our money is going to china

We have to borrow it back

Wake up America

Neither one is capable of uniting the nation, Romney is too far to the right, and Obama is too far to the left. About the only good thing I can say about Romney is that he can count on more support from the Democrats than Obama can count on from the Republicans.

Obama has been dividing the people of the US, since before he became president. You cannot expect him to do anything differently. I am voting for Mitt Romney. We need to get the socialist out of the White House for the good of the country.

Obama has demonstrated that he is only capable of dividing the nation. It is worse now than at almost any other time in our history. Hopefully a change in leadership will help heal the damage done by Obama.

The UN can not impose taxes on the American persons. The fact that you consider that makes me feel you are either too silly to read the constitution and UN charter or too lazy?

They will probably unite the nation by applying some glue on the state borders...I think

Don't think Mr Romney use the same divisive language that ''President'' Obama has

The ''President'' told his hispanic supporters to join with blacks in his fight with what he call ''our enemies'' he went on and told them ''if they bring a knife we will bring a gun''

Mr Romney would never interject his self by saying ''that boy could be my son''

Mr Romney would never refer to a police officer who arrested his friend ''he [police] acted stupidly''

Mr Romney supporters will never say to any who criticizes him ''your just a racist and don't like white people''