Will Obama really see rural Florida? We hope so

Of all the places for President Barack Obama to visit, Arcadia seems like it wouldn't make the list. But we're glad our president will be making it down to our neck of the woods. Maybe he'll see or hear something that opens his eyes to the realities of rural areas like ours.

Obama is set to tour the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center Tuesday. We hope he sees more than a photo op around these parts.

If he had the time to really observe it, he would see a part of Florida that is hurting as bad as anywhere in the country during these tough economic times. Our economic situation certainly isn't his fault, but he will play a role in how we come out of it.

Positive economic signs are being reported in places around the country. We haven't seen as many good signs. Unemployment in Highlands County is about 11 percent, and until that starts to change, we'll see little improvement.

What can Obama do to help us? That's a good question. Perhaps the best thing he could do is follow the creed of "first do no harm." That means don't put red tape and complications on anything that will improve our economic condition. Most of us want better health care, but we don't want to lose jobs because our companies can't afford to supply it. So while we await a better system, a lot's riding on this.

We also want to avoid massive national debt as much as possible, although we realize it's necessary sometimes to use debt to shore up critical institutions. Yes, a lot of that debt will be eliminated when the economy rebounds, but we're just spending too much to ever catch up.

Probably more than anything, we hope the president just sees another part of America outside of the big cities and Washington, D.C. We're not any better than our fellow countrymen living in large urban areas, but our needs, concerns and dreams are no less important either.

Perhaps he'll gain more perspective on the country he leads. We hope so. America is in desperate need of strong leadership right now.