We had a term called "R & R" in the military, meaning "rest and recuperation." You usually were sent to the equivalent of a resort or spa owned by the military to take a breather from the action. After a week or two there, you didn't want to go back to your assignment.

Today, we have another "R & R." It's a civilian term and it means "Romney and Ryan." They want to "recuperate" this wounded country by redirecting the money spent on social programs such as Medicare, education, Medicaid and Social Security.

The biggest beneficiaries of such axing would be their uber-rich Wall Street friends. Part of that recuperation includes extending tax breaks for these 1 percenters and trying to sell that old chestnut about a "trickle-down economy," ad nauseum.

The other half of "R & R" (Romney and Ryan) equation is "rest." Simply put, after dismantling of the government, what's left over is for the rest of us. Not much, but we're supposed to focus on God, Horatio Alger and Walmart while the victors lounge at poolside in the Cayman Islands.

I have been disappointed in the past four years, too.

"R & R" after the November election might mean "redundant and repeat." The lesser of the two evils.

BINK OWEN, Walla Walla