Tax season is here again. I know this because I have seen the Statue of Liberty mascots waving at me from the road as I drive past. I have seen the sudden outcropping of H&R Block offices that have sprung up like spring flowers, and I hear the airwaves bombarded with promises of getting you your refund fast (for a small fee). Right about now you are either hurriedly gathering the pertinent information to file your taxes and get your refund, or you are stalling, planning on filing an extension, and trying to figure out how you are going to pay what you owe. I hope you are the former.

There has been a lot in the news regarding taxes in the past weeks. Names like Geithner, Daschle, Killefer, and Rangel have been released from the media along with allegations of tax evasion, tax “mistakes”, illegal alien employees, and more. While this should be infuriating taxpayers on both sides of the partisan aisle, it should also be causing some pause within the ranks of the Commander In Chief.

President Obama has now hired a “Dirt Digger” to be a part of the White House legal team and has “accepted” the responsibility for the ordeal with Daschle. Will this dirt digger and a more aggressive role in digging for dirt alleviate the problem? Not on your tintype!

The issue at stake here is integrity and lack of experience. Integrity is all but gone from the Hill. Experience is not far behind. President Obama got so caught up in his new found power that he did not take the time to thoroughly question or investigate his appointees enough. Isn’t that what the vetting process is all about? Supposedly! However, the vetting process has become more of a formality or even pre-accepting party to celebrate the arrival of a fellow capitol hill club member. In this case the vetting process was praised as a good smoke and mirror decoy to deflect the focus off of the real problems.

We as a country are fortunate that this “appointment” situation is the first of the problems caused by inexperience. However it does bode the question of “How will it rear its ugly head again?” Will a series of mistakes be made when dealing with terrorists, or immigrants, or natural disasters? This is where time on the pond becomes of utmost importance. May God protect us from the errors of inexperience.

The other issue at stake is integrity. We have seen glimpse of the integrity of the President throughout his campaign. Glimpses such as his associations with Reverend Wright, Tony Rezko, and William Ayers cast a large shadow of doubt on the level of integrity held by the President. We have seen other glimpses such as birth certificate debates, health record releases or the lack thereof, and numerous and a sundry of minor looks into the man who now holds the reigns. In my opinion the character and integrity of those whom he wishes to surround himself with also lends a great indication of his own. The real issue is top down leadership. The followers reflect their leader, and we are in for a long four years.

The only way to combat such issues is face them head on and elect and support individuals with experience and integrity. The calling of another onto the proverbial carpet is nearly impossible to do, if the caller is a victim of the very same offense as the callee. That is why it took Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina to make the first move and call out Tom Daschle. Senator DeMint is a man of character, integrity and experience; a man who does not fear the “dirt diggers” or the media circus. He is a man who should be elevated by the party to leadership status and should usher us through and out of this dark time of the lacking of experience and integrity. DeMint’12! A friend of mine commented the other day that “it took a Carter to gain a Reagan.” DeMint could be our next Reagan.

This article was the first submission of many to come to "The Valley American", a Conservative news magazine serving the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.