I'm not a big fan of the Detroit auto industry. I'm outraged that I don't have the option of buying an electric car and I feel certain that people are dying in Iraq today simply because our government caved under pressure from lobbyists and rolled back the fuel efficiency standards that were put in place in the Carter administration. Had we continued with those CAFE standards since the late 70's then we would be energy independent today. That mandate called for the average passenger car fuel efficiency to be 48 MPG by 1995. What would that be worth to our economy and our lives? Oh! I forgot, Carter was an unpopular president that asked us to make a few sacrifices to help avoid disaster in the future. Thank God we "fixed" things. I would hate to have stuck with Carter's plans to be energy independent, have health care for all our citizens, saved billions wasted fighting a losing war on drugs, and created peace in the middle east through diplomacy. Being a great leader in tough times means resisting the urge to take the easy way out by saying what is popular. Instead of following Carter's plans, by making short term sacrifices to solve these long term problems, we turned our nation over to questionable leaders that decided to drive our nation into drastic debt with tax cuts and defense spending and then climb in bed with oil companies and the national powers that would end up attacking us on 9/11.

Despite my suspicion of the auto industry, I just picked up Lee Iacocca's new book and I was pleasantly surprised. He has always been known for being a straight shooter, but I wasn't expecting him to be a voice of prophetic critique of our current administration and a champion for change. I don't agree with everything, but like to hear diverse opinions and I'm really enjoying the book. He admits his mistake of supporting Bush in 2000, but was willing to correct that in 2004. Now he is very vocal and very prophetic. Here is what he has to say:

Had Enough?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. - Lee Iacocca