October 24, 2012
Since high school I have always paid close attention to each presidential election. For that reason I'm glad the 2008 election is a popular topic in prison. I frequently watch the NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press and CNN, which the Warden just approved for the political season. Despite not being able to vote, I have some thoughts on President Bush and our soon to be President Barack Obama.
During the past 8 years of the Bush Administration our country has suffered from a lack of leadership. Bush inherited a large budget surplus and today we struggle with staggering deficits. The stock market is slowly crashing with trillions of dollars disappearing because of an economic malaise that resulted from Bush’s policies. The housing market has also gone down hill and and employment is on the rise. Our foreign policy has been a disaster damaging our nation’s standing in the global community.
I believe Barack Obama has the judgment to lead us back to prosperity and I admire his commitment to governing from the bottom up, offering all Americans more opportunities to climb out of the malaise and into the mainstream. His expressions about the importance of conversing with those who live differently from us encourages me.
Personally, I am hopeful that Obama will make more responsible uses of our prison resources. Our country incarcerates more than one in every 100 people. In minority communities, the ratio is as high as one in 9 men of certain segments in prison. We incarcerate too many nonviolent offenders and we keep these people in prison for far too long. These failed criminal justice policies crush American families and fail to keep America safe as high recidivism rates reveal. I will be long gone from prison by the time any real prison reform arrives. Regardless, change is needed and Barack Obama is America’s best hope to make it happen.
