Son,

Barack Obama is on a toot. He is using an old line from self-help programs. Yesterday he said, “You keep doing the same thing expecting different results.”

Some people call that the essence of insanity – I have a slightly different take on the old saying. Real insanity is in doing the same thing, over and over, when you know what the results will be.

Obama’s point is well taken. We American Citizens are not happy. We feel disenfranchised by big money and special interests. We are not happy with the direction our country is going. So what can we do?

The blessing of a democracy is that we can change directions, even revolt, without shedding blood. But we have to quit doing the same thing. Obama is not talking about politicians doing the same thing, over and over. He is talking about voters, or citizens who choose not to vote.

If we continue to vote for people who represent the old guard then we should expect no changing of the guard. Doing the same thing over and over led to the rise of King George Bush II. Do we really want more of that?

Obama makes a simple point – if we want to change direction – then it is up to us to have the courage to ‘roll the dice,’ as Bill Clinton so appropriately put it.

Dad