John Stossel on 'Rinkonomics': Forget Leaders, You Should Be in Charge

Oct. 16, 2008— -- There's tremendous excitement about this year's election. Each candidate says his new administration would solve America's problems, from cutting taxes and balancing the federal budget to guaranteeing health care and creating jobs. But can a president really do all those things?

At this year's conventions, supporters from both parties seemed to think so. At the Republican National Convention, voters for John McCain were confident that their candidate would "get things done in Washington" and "bring peace and stability to the United States." Supporters for Barack Obama said that he would "give us back our freedom, our trust" and that "workers' lives will improve and all of our kids and grandkids will have a better life."

"We actually think that some people can do magic," said David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C. "It's like we believe that when one man is chosen to be president, suddenly he rises above all the rest of us."

'Government Should Do More'

For one, Oprah Winfrey seems to have that kind of opinion of Obama. At an Obama rally, her introduction sounded almost biblical. "He is the one," she said in December. "He is the one."

Said Cato's Boaz: "They think politicians can do anything. They think politicians can give us health care, give us better lives, give us better jobs. Politicians can't do most of that stuff."

Take energy independence. Every president since Richard Nixon (1969 to 1974) has promised to move us toward independence from foreign energy sources. Nixon promised it would happen by 1980, President Ford by 1985. But the country is no closer to energy independence today.

Still, Obama says he would end oil imports from the Middle East and Venezuela in 10 years and McCain promises "strategic independence" by 2025.

Politicians say what they think people want to hear and people want to believe them, observers say.

"It's kind of an instinctive reaction: Government should do more on health care," Boaz said. "Government should do more for the elderly. Government should do more for children. But a president can't fix all the problems in your life."

Indeed, most of life works best when people are in charge.