When Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, he immediately became the “owner” of the worst economy since the 1970′s, and while the Bush administration must share the blame with the Democratically-controlled Congress, the problem now belongs entirely to President Obama.

In my opinion Mr. Obama is standing at a crossroads. If he manages the economy just right and things turn around, he should be able to expect easy re-election in four years. But if he bungles this enormous task, he and Michelle might as well begin packing up their belongings in the latter part of the next election cycle. I predict it will be the latter.

When Congress was negotiating the massive stimulus bill that just passed, they and the President had an opportunity to really make a big impact on the economy and the confidence of the American people, but they blew it. Instead of spending the money where it counts (tax cuts and business incentives), they chose instead to push through a gargantuan pile of pork that will have very little positive effect on the economy at all. In reality, all it will do is plunge the nation far deeper into debt, and our grandchildren will some day have to pay all of this money back.

The Republicans in Congress refused to go along with the game, but the Democrats had the votes needed to ramrod the bill through anyway. Make no mistake, this catastrophe of a bill has nothing but Democrat handprints all over it, and in the end I believe it will be Obama’s downfall (as well as the downfall of the Democrat majority in the House and Senate). When this largest stimulus package ever approved fails to turn the economy around, the Republicans can, and will, legitimately be able to say “I told you so”. And I believe the American voters will agree.

For decades we Americans have been dependent on foreign oil for the bulk of our energy needs, and in my opinion it’s high time for that to change. There is simply no reason why we can’t channel a huge chunk of the billions of dollars we send each year to countries that are bent on our destruction into developing our own God-given energy supplies.

This country has an abundance of crude oil, natural gas and coal just waiting to be pumped out and mined, and we need to take the steps required to do so right away. Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy will certainly play an ever-increasing role in filling our energy needs, and we need to put a lot of money and effort into developing them and making them economically viable as quickly as possible. But in the short term, there is simply no practical substitute for fossil fuels.

We need to ease the restrictions that are hampering and preventing the recovery of our off-shore crude oil and the immense reserves in Alaska’s ANWR, then set about building enough new refineries to supply our nation’s need for gasoline. We also need to push forward the development and production of clean-burning coal, and we need to do it NOW.

The environmentalists are telling us that the sky is falling and that global warming is going to destroy the planet, but there is little evidence that that is the case. And what evidence there is is shaky indeed. But one thing is certain: If we don’t grab the bull by the horns and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil sooner rather than later, we will no longer have a lifestyle worth living or the freedom to enjoy whatever lifestyle we’re left with after OPEC and the Chinese have ruined our economy.

Now that we’re well into the final third of February, one would think that the winter weather we have had this year would be moderating a bit. Well, it isn’t – not yet at least. The daytime temps are still below freezing and yet another snowfall has blanketed the ground – not very deep mind you – but the ground is covered as I write this.

But hope springs eternal, and before we know it the spring flowers will all be in bloom, drawing tons of butterflies and hummingbirds with their beautiful aroma. Till then I’ll just stay indoors and enjoy the beauty of winter’s last stand. Calling “global warming”…where are you?