I was disturbed on Tuesday as I watched President Obama's speech. He stated that our border is secure and that the border fence is complete.

I disagree with our Hope and Change leader. Our border remains porous with illegal aliens flooding into the country at will. Our Border Patrol and National Guard troops are not permitted to use their weapons to stop the flood of drug couriers and migrant workers.The drug lords are better armed than our own troops thanks to the Obama administration's Project Gunrunner. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) knowingly required gun dealers to sell arms to criminals so they could track where the guns went in Mexico.Border Patrol agent Brian Terry paid with his life when a Mexican criminal, who was armed with a Project Gunrunner weapon, executed him. Other Border Patrol agents tried to return fire but their meager pistols were inferior to the high-powered weapons our government provided to the criminals. My question is: How does providing sophisticated weaponry to Mexican drug cartels make our borders secure?As for the border fence, 700 miles of our southern border is now fenced leaving approximately 1,300 miles unfenced. While many people focus on illegal aliens entering the country to find work, we should also be concerned by what our government calls "other than Mexicans" or OTM's.These are terrorists intent on destroying America and our way of life. They can freely enter this country on our unprotected southern border.The border with Canada is completely unfenced. Much of this border is unsupervised, enabling people to enter our country without going through customs and immigration or risk of interception by the Border Patrol. Our coastlines also have many unsupervised entry points for both drugs and people.President Obama is either ignorant of the truth or knowingly misleading the American public when he says our borders are secure.This week he also made his "pathway to citizenship" a priority. He remains committed to permitting those who broke the law, entered this country illegally, and took American jobs away from our unemployed, to become citizens of this great country.Millions of people from countries around the world have submitted the documentation required for legal immigration to the United States. These people must wait five or ten years just to get the top of the list.Many of those who applied will never be permitted to enter this country as new immigrants. Clearly our President gives preference to those who broke the law while denying those who follow our immigration policies and procedures.Immigration is not a priority with the American people. Our President supports naturalizing illegal aliens so he can get the Hispanic vote. He has stopped leading our country and is clearly now on the election trail.Every move he makes is geared towards getting reelected. He knows he can appeal to minorities and the poor to get the votes he needs. His hand out philosophy will buy the votes. Yet these poor constituents need a hand up, not a hand out.Everyone wants jobs so we can feed our families. We want to balance the budget and reduce the deficit. We want a government that supports the expansion of corporations and small business so they can create the jobs needed for American citizens and legal immigrants. We do not want leaders who bribe the electorate with entitlements. We want leaders who will restore our economy, our values and our pride.Our President continues to bash corporations for earning a profit. This week he chastised oil companies for their "excessive" profits. Let's look those profits. The oil companies make approximately 8 cents on a gallon of gasoline. Our federal government "earns" 18.4 cents on every gallon of gasoline sold in this nation. The state government here in Pennsylvania gets 32.3 cents from every gallon of gasoline sold in the state.Together our governments charge more than 50 cents a gallon while chastising corporations for making one sixth of the government take. Yes, we are being gouged on our gasoline but it is not the oil companies. It is our government that extorts the poor for the privilege of driving to work.But these taxes are not enough. The federal government passed legislation to provide subsidies to those buying electric and hybrid vehicles. They also passed laws requiring automobile manufacturers to achieve better mileage. The auto companies complied and some Americans purchased hybrid vehicles. The result is a decline in the increase of tax revenue from gasoline sales.Let me be clear about the last sentence. Gas taxes did not go down as a result of the above actions; rather they did not rise at the same rate as in the past. The government was counting on this increase to fund more of their income redistribution.As I write this, a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax (VMT) is being considered by the Congressional Budget Office as a way to compensate for improved mileage and use of electric and hybrid vehicles. Under some scenarios we would have devices installed in our cars to monitor the miles driven.In other scenarios, each of our vehicles would be tracked so the government knows where we are going, when we are going, and the routes we are taking. At some point We The People have to say enough is enough and stop this nonsense!This week, I listened to a presidential candidate explain his platform. Herman Cain is an American from Georgia. Yes Mr. Cain is a black man, but he does not believe he is an African-American. He is an American period!In his successful business career, he was an executive at Coca-Cola and at Burger King and was the CEO of Godfather's Pizza. This man is a turnaround expert! He knows how to take corporate difficulties and turn them into gold mines.Now he is applying for the worst job in the world: that of President of the bankrupt United States of America. His platform is based on common sense solutions. Stick to the basics! Identify inefficiencies and failing programs and implement common sense solutions. This is music to my ears!If my choice next year was to vote for the African-American Obama and the American Herman Cain, Mr. Cain gets my vote and I hope the vote of all Americans who want to see our country restored to its former glory.Mr. Cain believes in our country and our people. Since the beginning of the Tea Party movement, I have been called a racist because I do not support Barack Hussein Obama. My position is not based on race nor am I a racist. His actions confirm that he is destroying America as he places more tax burden on the working to fund those who choose not to work.I am willing to support Herman Cain as an American not because he is black, but because he is the best person for the job. Whether or not Mr. Cain makes it through the primary process to become the Republican nominee is irrelevant. Just by becoming a candidate he has raised my hope that there will be light at the end of the Obama administration.In the coming weeks and months we will see other candidates coming forward with their platforms. As always, I will analyze these platforms and put them into a spreadsheet so that I can compare and contrast the candidates before I cast my ballot.Knowledgeable voters do not succumb to the fancy oratory of tax and spend politicians and RINOS (Republican in Name Only). They investigate candidates' platforms, pose difficult questions to the candidates and compare the answers. In the 2012 elections we need to be wary of oratory if we are to flip the Congress.Until the elections, we are stuck with our current batch of politicians. We have to ensure that they continue to do our work and stay focused on the issues that face our nation. Immigration reform is not one of them.We need jobs! We need fiscal responsibility! Most of all we need peace! We don't need to legitimatize illegal aliens or other irresponsible ideas of a whimsical President intent on the transformation of America as we know it.We want the old America back. We want the America where the government works for the good of the people, not the government that pads the pockets of the politicians.© 2011 Gordon Smith All Rights Reserved