It may surprise many of you, but I voted for Obama in 2008. This time around, I am voting for Mitt Romney, and here’s why:
#1 – Obama’s slim list of accomplishments – After his first term in office, Obama can tout a very sparse list of successes. We had all expected, and he promised, so much more. Yes, he bailed out General Motors and Chrysler, and we are all glad to see those companies doing better, but those companies make up less than 1 percent of the United States’ total economic activity. The vast majority of the U.S. economy continues to languish in the doldrums of the slowest recovery ever.
If Obama wants to really help the auto industry, he needs to lift the rest of America out of its economic slump so that more people have the money to buy cars. Also, one of the best ways to help the auto industry is to be more tough with cheaters like China who game the system in order to sell cheaper goods than American companies. Everyone knows China is cheating on trade and that they are a “currency manipulator,” but Obama has refused to take a hard line against them. Mitt Romney has promised to label China a “currency manipulator” on the first day in office.
#2 – Mitt Romney is a man with a particular set of skills that are needed so badly in America today. This is a man who has spent his entire career turning around troubled enterprises, from small businesses to large businesses to the Olympics. And America needs a turnaround!
Today, fewer children believe that they will be better off than their parents than at any time in our history. Americans all over the country have began accepting “the new normal” of low job opportunities, declining incomes, and a weaker America abroad. That is a sad commentary on the state of the American Dream.
Politicians and economists are already talking about a “post-American world,” an America in decline much the same way England, Spain, and Rome all rose and fell from power throughout history. They believe America’s days of power are numbered. I can’t accept that way of thinking. I want to believe America’s brightest days are yet ahead.
As far as particular skills that Romney has, I think nobody knows better than him how to champion small businesses and help them grow. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and that was Romney’s career for 25 years. I also think that Romney will be able to use his knowledge of business organization to streamline government by consolidating departments and getting rid of duplicate and wasteful spending. Romney knows how to make organizations much more cost efficient while preserving the programs that Americans depend on.
#3- Obama’s Benghazi-gate – In regard to the terrorist attack last month in Libya that murdered our ambassador, we now know enough to make a judgement call on Obama’s actions. We now know that the ambassador had requested increased security multiple times before the attack but was denied each time. In fact, the Obama administration ended upreducing security at the embassy one month before the attack.
We also know that Obama refused to act in order to save those at the embassy while the attack was taking place. In fact, three different requests for aid were denied during the attack. Planes in Italy were just an hour away and could have been deployed at a moments notice during the attack which lasted over seven hours. But Obama, fearing another “Black Hawk Down” episode, did nothing.
We also know that the Obama administration’s first explanation as to why the attacks occured (namely, an anti-Muslim video and a “spontaneous protest” to that video) have been proven demonstrably false. It took Obama two weeks before he admitted that the cause of the attack was terrorism, and not the anti-Muslim video he had initially cited. We know that a terrorist organization claimed credit for the attack just hours after the initial attack and that the Obama administration was aware of the terrorist group’s announcement. In summary, we know that Obama tried to cover-up his irresponsible, reckless and naive actions in order to help his chances to get re-elected. I know “cover-up” is a strong word, but in this case the evidence is overwhelming. If there is one thing American’s expect and deserve, it is that we expect our President to tell us the truth, even when the truth is hard.
Are such actions fitting of our Commander-in-Chief? The terrorist attack in Benghazi Libya last month was the first time an American ambassador has been murdered in over 30 years. At one point in time, killing an ambassador was just cause for declaring war. But our ambassador wasn’t just murdered, he was also tortured and raped then dragged bloody through the streets of Benghazi. American’s should be angered by the Obama administrations mishandling of the situation, and especially over the cover-up that ensued the weeks after the attack.