It is not a flashy company, and you almost certainly won’t see it featured in Fortune anytime soon. In fact, you’ve probably never heard of it, but the ‘Big 3” ought to study up: Baldor Electric Company (BEC) paved a business model for companies to follow in bleak economic times. Trouble is ‘loyalty’ isn’t as catchy as ‘bailout’.

At a time when our nation cowers under a 6.5% unemployment rate, and the stock market is as volatile as Bob Knight on the side line of an Indiana college basketball game, millions of Americans are wondering what went wrong, how did it get this bad. Tonight, 1-2 million auto workers are not sleeping because the nightmares of ‘layoffs’ and ‘cuts’ flush slumber and sweet dreams down the proverbial tube and Congressional ‘leaders’ pander to their constituents on a daily basis – hedging against party loyalties, soft money contributions, and lobbyists. In the wake of an American icon failing and going belly-up, top executives plead for billions of your tax dollars in hopes of saving their company, and their defense is not failed management strategy but rather global financial stress.

Here’s The Deal…Teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, in 1929, BEC vowed no layoffs for any of its workers – and none were. Restructuring pay kept each worker employed, and the rising manufacturer weaved its way through the Great Depression and emerged as leading small motor company in the U.S. And, during the early 1980’s as the nation again faced economic downturn, the company invested in employees who could not read by starting a literacy program, and re-writing the instruction manuals.

Capitalism is not void of compassion; it just goes by a different name…loyalty. Those who say we should save GM should compare GM to BEC. In times of trouble and consternation loyalty can be the difference…and for those who believe the unions are to blame remember that for years those same unions tried to get into BEC and were rejected every time. Where’s the loyalty, where’s the accountability for GM?
The American people should not be loyal to a bailout.

When I was growing up, and really to this day, I enjoyed the television show: Knight Rider. I liked the car, I thought Hasseloff was cool because his character’s name was also my name, and I thought Bonnie was good looking. In the show, Michael is convinced to join the Knight Foundation because “One man can make a difference”

As the election draws near I would like to encourage everyone to vote.

Vote because you can, vote because you have the privilege to cast an opinion without fear of retribution. Vote because it is an American duty and the American way. Vote because you believe in things bigger than yourself, in the ability to evoke change. Vote because you believe in good versus evil. Vote because you live in a free nation. Vote because it doesn’t cost you anything. Vote because it is important, because you are a voice and your voice is unique. Vote because of your future, because God willing you will be living through the next four years. Vote because of your past; because millions of men and women have died for your freedom and spilled blood for your liberty. Vote because we still salute the flag, because honor is not bought but rather achieved. Vote because we are still one nation under God. Vote because you can stand for something, anything, somewhere, and anywhere. Vote because it doesn’t matter if you are white, black, yellow, green, or red. Vote because you live in the United States.

Here’s The Deal…If you have voted, or when you do vote; if you are a regular reader (Kristen Stout), then respond that you voted…the opportunity to be apart of something special, the privilege to change the world begins with you… make a difference.

Three “medium sized” newspapers finally endorsed McCain…and subsequently, those paper’s ‘Obama coverage’ reporters were kicked off the Obama plane yesterday.  These 3 reporters have been flying with Obama since 2007, but yesterday – as the campaign draws nearer to election day, the reporters were let go without parachutes.  The only logical conclusion is that they were kicked off because they were McCain supporters and it could be dangerous to allow them to hang around Obama so close to election time.  *Sounds familiar to the excommunication memo sent by the Obama campaign to a local Florida news channel after a lead reporter asked Biden some “tougher” than usual questions.  Apparently, the Obama ticket is not used to answering questions other than “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Tom Cruise”? (I.E. the view).

Now, let’s be fair, the McCain campaign has not allowed two reporters (one from Time magazine and one from the NY times) to travel with them because of their blatant liberal articles – but these people have not been allowed this entire campaign.

Here’s The Deal…if you actually ask Biden a tough question – your news station will not be granted any future access.  If you call Obama on his tax policies in the middle of a crowd – you’ll be publicly mocked the next day (Joe the plumber), and if your views are differenthan Obama’s campaign – you’ll be thrown off the plane??   I guess if you’ll stand with him, if you’ll fight with him, if you’ll knock on some doors for him; he’ll be your friend, but if you disagree with him, if you contradict him, if you’ll stand up to him…then he’ll shut you out in Florida coverage and he’ll shut you out of the general election coverage…

In a recent interview with Barack Obama, Matt Laurer stated that some of the Democratic leaders, some of Obama’s campaign advisors, and some of Obama’s average supporters had advised the candidate to stay away from media interviews, stop walking the rope lines and for all intensive purposes keep a low profile for the next few weeks. While the large media polls indicate Obama has an increasing national lead; the hope of avoiding another “Joe the plumber” incident is imperative before the election. In other words, Obama has been advised to shut up! Now, since he gave the interview to Matt Laurer (and trust me, the questions were not difficult) it is obvious he has rejected those calls, but it is unsettling that a presidential candidate would even be presented an option of silence. If a McCain supporter had advised John to lay low, not say much, or don’t go here and walk the ropes…I am sure McCain would have made a suggestion as to where that supporter could go.

Here’s The Deal….Obama is weak. Some misconstrue his “steady” talk and “cool” demeanor as calm and collected, confident and secure. I see his lack of enthusiasm as passive and generally lackadaisical. I fear that Obama will be “pushed around” by other world leaders and seen as generally agreeable to all sides but uncommitted to a principled stand. Even his running mate, Joe Biden, is apparently worried of this same thing. This week Joe said, “And here’s the point I want to make. Mark my words. Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama…we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy…And he’s gonna need help…it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right…”

We need to stop making excuses for Obama, he is not ready to become President. Not because he is dumb, not because he is black, not because he is a man, not because he served on a board with a known terrorist but because: his economic policy reeks of socialism, he would nationalize heath care, he is unwilling to be truthful about his friendships with convicted criminals, his foreign policy “experience” is a week long trip through Iraq, he has never run any type of government (I.E. mayor, governor) or a small business, he has not even proved to his own running mate that he will stand firm as President; apparently we will have to prop him up and if he does make a critical decision it will be some time before we anyone has any idea that Obama had no idea from the beginning…

In the past few days Obama has begun his “closing argument” speech in which he hopes to convince the American people that he is in fact ready to become President. Tonight, in what has been described as the “Obama infomercial”, Barack gave an emotionally charged 30 minute ‘insight’ into an Obama presidency, but the speech still left more questions than answers.

Like the man who tries to sell you mighty putty at 2:00 in the morning; Obama tried to sell his ‘policies’ as the end-all fix-all for the current economic, social, and health care issues in America today. He cleverly distanced himself from the socialist rhetoric from two weeks ago, in which he stated that he wanted to “spread the wealth”, he did not mention how he was going to pay for his “health care reform” in which wants health care companies to cover pre-existing conditions – and yet thinks they will NOT raise premiums, his energy plan now looks like McCain’s (specifically the willingness to now drill domestically), and these policies: if you string together, can pick up a brick, pull a semi truck or even fill in wood scratches and then be sanded to look like new, BUT wait, if you vote on November the 4th, Obama will throw into his presidency some questionable relationships with known terrorists – and not talk candidly about their relationship!

Here’s The Deal…Obama can sell his own version of mighty putty with the best of them, but in the end there needs to be substance. He has projected a lot of eloquent speeches, and he is, I believe, a true American and has the best of intentions, but he is misleading on his policies and naive in his plans to curb spending when he is running on programs that cost money. He is sneaky in his relationships with questionable people and he supports socialists economic policies.