It is tough, even for an optimist, not to be pessimistic these days.

Rising gas prices, unemployment, a loss of at least 47 percent in the value of the average home, the debate over the federal government’s inability to meet its financial obligations without rasing a deficit budget ceiling, has all led to the publics’ dour mood.

President Obama’s public disapproval rating, according to a New York Times/CBS poll, has hit a high of 57 percent.

Yes, that was the candidate in 2008 with the slogan, ‘Change we can believe in’ that has now become ‘Change we didn’t want.’  Obama’s chant of ‘Yes we can’ quickly turned into, ‘No we can’t.’

Despite all of Obama’s Bush bashing and blame game of bemoaning what he inherited, it has worn thin.

Now this is not to say the public is enthralled with the congress.  The NYT/CBS poll shows that 75 percent disapprove of the way in whch congress is doing its job.

This was reflected in the election of 2010, when voters literally cleaned the House and turned control over to the GOP.

Obama’s trophy legislation, Obamacare, which he arrogantly rammed through the Dem control of both houses at the time, has now also fallen on hard times.  The new entitlement program doesn’t seem to fit too well into a $14 trillion deficit, which Obama has taken to an all-time high with stimulus programs that didn’t produce jobs.

Economists today agree that the pace of expansion is not fast enough to create a significant number of jobs.

Obama’s divisive policies and attitude exacerbated a bad situation to a worse one, now pitting the rich against the poor and the middle class through wealth redistribution programs and higher taxes for those making over $250,000.

Taxation is not the answer, nor are the ideologies of Obamasim – more entitlements, bigger government and a new world order.

It now IS time for change and yes one we can believe in, but not the one we have seen!