Four years ago, America elected hope and change. Perhaps we had good reason to be optimistic; Barack Obama sounded great. He promise
d tobreak the mold of the “Washington insider,” reach across the aisle and bring back bipartisanship. Many of us nodded in agreement when Obama, during the 2008 campaign, stated that increasing the national debt is “unpatriotic.” On Inauguration Day, the national debt was $10.26 trillion. Gas prices were around $1.79. America faced a recession. That was 2009.
This is 2012. Economic growth is stagnant. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the U-6 unemployment rate sits at 14.7 percent. Those unemployed include people who have looked for work in the last 12 months, and those working part time because they can’t find a full-time job. Gas is also well over $3 per gallon. The national debt just hit $16 trillion, and every American citizen presently owes over $50,000 of that debt. One in five college graduates are unemployed. We don’t need the media or either candidate to tell us that America is struggling yet again. Are we—are you—better off now than you were four years ago?
We’re all college students. We all want and need jobs after graduation. We don’t want to be saddled with debt, we want economic opportunity. We need a leader who will bridge the gap between political parties and not feed the political gridlock.
We need leadership. But not leadership that talks big — we need a leader who can back up what he campaigns with a proven record. I believe that leader is Gov. Mitt Romney. His experience and solutions for America make him the man this country needs.
Where Obama lacks in real-world executive experience, Romney boasts an impressive record. Romney balanced budgets, created thousands of jobs, and saved businesses during his time at Bain Capital. As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with an 85 percent democratic Congress to cut taxes, balance budgets, drop unemployment from 5.6 percent to 4.7 percent, pass a healthcare plan for the state and make the climate for businesses welcoming. The federal government has been without a budget in over 1,000 days — and the last budget Obama proposed couldn’t even get votes from Democrats. Romney ran businesses and a state and proved he has skills in reaching across the aisle to get work done. We could use that experience right about now.
Barack Obama touts the passage of the Affordable Care Act as one of his administration’s greatest accomplishments. His efforts are commendable, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates Obamacare will cost at least $2.6 trillion, and over 30 million Americans will remain uninsured. Romney recognizes we cannot afford this program. He plans to work to repeal and replace Obamacare with policies that allow states to craft healthcare plans that best fit their citizens—just as he successfully implemented in Massachusetts.
And women, despite what the scare tactics in negative campaign ads will tell you, Romney will not ban abortions, nor will he inhibit your ability to obtain contraceptives. Nor can he “repeal” Roe v. Wade, as some campaign ads so audaciously tout. Planned Parenthood will still be funded — just not by government dollars.
Romney understands that America will obtain peace not by military sequestration or apologies, but through strength. In the case of Libya, the administration first blamed the embassy attack on a YouTube video (when the White House had knowledge of it being a terrorist attack within a few hours after it occurred). During the attack, CIA operators were denied help when they requested back-up support during the firefight. The administration has not been transparent in answering questions or providing what they knew and when. Yes, Osama Bin Laden is dead. But so are U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty and Sean Smith.
The choice is clear. We can re-elect more of the same—more spending, more unemployment, more gridlock politics, more national debt. Or we can choose a man with a clear vision for America’s future, one with the necessary experience to get our nation back on track to prosperity. That man is Mitt Romney.
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