There is no denying that the two men vying for the White House are supremely qualified and capable. They are both devoted family men as well. America has been through rough economic waters and it is now time to choose a direction for recovery.
The sentiment that pervades the United States is one of underperformance. We have such potential as a people. After all, it was us who through our sweat and tears, blood and sacrifice brought this land to the pinnacle of world growth and productivity. There is a palpable sense that while America looks poised for a big comeback, we are not producing to our potential.
In any enterprise, private or public, the buck needs to stop with a leader. Over the past four years, America’s recovery post-recession has been the worst in a century. Home values are still at record lows. Banks are still sheepish to lend. Gas prices are still at record high levels. Take home pay for the average family is still the lowest in decades. Most prominent though, are jobs and the lack of them. The unemployment rate when the President took office and where it is now are the same. However, the workforce itself has shrunk over his term to the lowest in three decades. There are still over 23 million people not employed today.
The President likes to blame his opponent and his party for America’s current predicament. What he neglects to mention is that for the first two years of his term, he and his party controlled the levers of power to such an extent that the Republicans were powerless to stop them. These current economic conditions are the direct result of faulty policy, crafted and signed under the misguided leadership of Barack Obama. There is no one else to blame besides the President for the stagnation that is the result.
After the litany of pain and dysfunction that was the last four years, one would think America needs someone who is more of a doer, not just a talker. Maybe America needs someone who has had business, non-profit, and government experience and achieved vast success in those fields. America would need someone who is dubbed a turnaround expert. Mitt Romney had an overwhelmingly successful record in business. His turnaround of the Salt Lake City Olympic games after 9/11 was masterful. His ability to govern and achieve success in an 85% Democratic legislature would be a breath of fresh air to Washington’s gridlock.
Take away the smallness that this campaign has sometimes stooped. Forget binders and Big Bird, tax returns and ‘Romnesia’. These are all distractions from the reality Americans can clearly see around them. We have big problems to tackle and we need serious and successful men and women to solve them.
Barack Obama was elected four years ago to fix America’s problems. On nearly every measure and even using his own benchmarks, he has failed to bring the change America needed. The American people gave Barack Obama the position and power to lead the nation out of the economic wilderness, even though he had never led before. Four years of meager growth and stagnant incomes were the result. Now it’s time for the American people to give Mitt Romney, a man who has a distinguished track record for turnarounds, a chance to do it again. Governor Mitt Romney should receive America’s vote to be the next President of the United States.
*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
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