What became unmistakably clear throughout the campaign season is that the candidates were not willing to engage in substantive discussions on some controversial topics that would rankle a sizable portion of the electorate if articulated with specificity, such as the U.S. role in the ongoing Middle East crisis. Similarly, there was virtually no discussion by the candidates or their proxies the entire campaign season about how to address our nation’s widening budget deficits and soaring national debt. The topic was virtually ignored. This is willful blindness. Girding the American people for challenging times ahead or asking them to prepare for any shared sacrifice to address this white elephant would be considered an act of political suicide these days, and neither party will go there, not in campaigning nor governing.