Truth lost in the shuffle

But one outcome is certain in next week's elections. The ultra-liberal media will undoubtedly claim a Democratic victory regardless of the outcome. I assure you the scripts are already written.

Unless the GOP wins every single House and Senate seat, our state-run media will somehow spin the outcome to portray it as an astounding victory for the Democrats and the Obama administration.

And you wonder why people hold the media in such low regard.

But honestly, some of this blame falls on the Republicans. Just three weeks ago, the GOP was so heady with the smell of success that they predicted wildly optimistic results come next week. One relatively respected GOP spokesman predicted a gain of nearly 100 seats in the House and a 50-50 shot of taking the Senate majority.

If you set the bar that ridiculously high, you are darned near doomed to fail. To simply pick up the roughly 40 House seats needed to regain the majority will somehow feel like a failure given that overly-optimistic expectation.

And the Democrats know this. By throwing their own numbers back in their face, the Democrats will likely take a GOP victory and turn it into a dismissal of the tea party and an endorsement of the Obama agenda.

The truth is, I believe, a clear majority of Americans favor the policies and platform established by the GOP -- small government, curtailed entitlements, reduced deficits. But the GOP ground game is clearly lacking.

So let me state the obvious. What the GOP lacks for this election cycle and especially for the 2012 showdown is a clear leader. There are several among the GOP ranks who might take that leap and come to the front, but as of now, there is no one to accept that leadership position in a clear fashion.

Political movements need leadership. The heavy lifting might actually be done by others in Congress, but the American public wants a leader to promote those values and programs they hold dear.

When the dust clears next week, expect that leader to begin to surface. It goes without saying that the countdown for the all-important 2012 elections begins next week. We can hate the protracted campaigns that seem to run forever but reality is reality.

If the Republicans gain control of the House and make some inroads into the Senate, it will mean a clear victory and a message from the American public that our current path of progress has fallen on disfavor with the majority.

Pay little attention to the spin doctors on both sides of the aisle. After all, they are paid handsomely to promote a specific agenda.

Oftentimes, truth gets lost in the shuffle.