Where is the candidate that best represents me and my family's values? Over the last couple of years (can you believe it) since this entire presidential campaign season started, I have been diligently searching out who I feel would be best to lead the country. I can say that without a doubt, the four that are running were not even a consideration in my wildest dreams and to this day I have to ask myself "is this the best we can do?"

I am a pretty conservative guy on most things but not a 100% conservative. I am the sole provider of a growing family with a small business. If you think being a real estate broker isn't a small business, think again. Like every small business, we have budgets we must follow, employees to pay, vendors to manage, all while taking an incredible amount of time, and we have a lot (with the emphasis on A LOT) of personal capital invested so success isn't optional. Currently, I work at least 6 days a week but most of the time, I will go three or four weeks without quitting but that's the demands of the market.

I don't work this hard because I want to remain in our current situation for the next 40 years. If that were the case, I would have quit a long time ago and became a pastor somewhere. I'm working this hard because my family deserves a lot better and its my responsibility to provide for them, not yours. So I don't appreciate it when Senator Obama and Senator Biden tell me that they're going to raise my taxes, that it's patriotic to pay more taxes, and that businesses can afford higher taxes. I suppose that's their inexperience from being in my position but I can say with all certainty that when I'm flat broke, I'm not running around hiring people. I also do not like that they have set the punishment for success so low at $250,000. If our group hits our goals over the next 12 months, we'll exceed $250,000 but I can assure you, rich we shall not be.

I want health care that's affordable but not run by some government bureaucrat. Because I work a lot with short sales, I get the priviledge of working with people who, quite frankly, just don't give a damn about their job or the asset they're selling. They make outrageous mistakes, working with the confines of poorly written scripts and guidelines, and expect the world to function as they prescribe. I have a feeling that the same people could end up telling me that my wife's health condition isn't worth correcting because she's too old or because her life isn't worth it. We deal with that now and we pay for health care ourselves so I can only imagine what it will be like when that fine operation The Government get's involved.

I want someone who will treat our national budget like the way we run our personal budget. To me, every candidate for president should be disqualified immediately from any financial discussions since they've demonstrated how poor they are on the subject by spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a job that pays only $400,000 a year. It would have made a greater impression on me when talking with the families facing foreclosure, they changed those people's lives and helped them out with a gift for them to use until their home sold or their loan modified...but I digress. I want a someone who will work to balance the budget and not want me to pony up new taxes to pay for failed programs. My wife and I haven't been on a vacation in about four years because when you can't afford a vacation, you don't take one. Yet, Congress saw fit to take a vacation while I was pumping $4.25 gasoline this summer. So I want to see someone who will make the cuts necessary to bring the budget down to what the revenues today and not just print more money for more spending.

I want someone one who will keep me from being blown up by Al Queda or killed by local thugs. After all, all of the social programs in the world mean nothing if I'm pushing daisy's.

I want someone to just shoot me straight on the issues and where they stand on the issues. If you listen to them long enough, each Presidential candidates agrees and then disagrees on pretty much every issue.

I want someone who actually wants my son to get a good education, even if he goes to public school. Back when I lived in Maryland, I was amazed that most (and I would bet all but I don't know for sure) of our representatives who live in Washington do not send their kids to school there. President Clinton sent his daughter to Sidwell Friends. Meanwhile the public schools are among the most well funded per student in the country but lack greatly in every other area that matters. If I'm a parent and cannot sacrifice enough so that my child can attend private school, I should have the choice to send my kid to the best public school in the area. This wouldn't be an issue if all schools were created equal but clearly that isn't the case.

I want someone with a respect for God and for His creations.

Finally, I want someone who is a hard-hitter and knows what its like to be a winner. The W word seems to be falling out of favor for some but the lessons of winning and losing are so very important in one's character. I don't like to lose and when it looks like things are going sideways, i work harder so that I know I've done everything possible. I want someone who go before Congress, other nations, and the people to tell it like it is, stand up for their beliefs, and so what it takes to be a winner.

So where is my candidate for president?

Jonathan Osman
Charlotte NC Homes, Charlotte Real Estate