Romney should be elected over Obama

1. We need a new President A prosperous economy is the basis for all else. The economy provides money for individuals to support themselves, for a social safety net, for infrastructure construction, and for national defense. Governor Romney summarized President Obama's performance: [Obama] said that by now we’d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work. ... He said he would have by now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security, because he pointed out they’re on the road to bankruptcy. He would reform them. He’d get that done. He hasn’t even made a proposal on either one. He said in his first year he’d put out an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges. Didn’t even file it. ... He said that he’d cut in half the deficit. He hasn’t done that either. In fact, he doubled it. He said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It’s gone up by $2,500 a year. And if Obamacare is passed, or implemented -- it’s already been passed -- if it’s implemented fully, it’ll be another $2,500 on top. The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, “Look, I’ve created 5 million jobs.” That’s after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country. The unemployment, the number of people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million Americans. There are more people in poverty, one out of six people in poverty. ... When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps. How about the growth of the economy? It’s growing more slowly this year than last year, and more slowly last year than the year before. The president wants to do well. I understand. But the policies he’s put in place from Obamacare to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory policies, these policies combined have not let this economy take off and grow like it could have. [1. http://tinyurl.com...] The Stimulus was promised to go towards building infrastructure, but “only 8% of the total, went to roads, public transport, rail, bridges, aviation and wastewater systems.” [2. http://www.economist.com...] The Administration did not understand the basics of the government procurement cycle of proposal, specification, bid, award, and funding, Obama admitted the shovel-ready jobs did not exist. [3. http://tinyurl.com...] President Clinton, in a candid moment, declared: “I’ve heard more from Bush, asking for my advice, than I’ve heard from Obama,” ... “I have no relationship with the president — none whatsoever. Obama doesn’t know how to be president. He doesn’t know how the world works. He’s incompetent. He’s an amateur!” [4. http://tinyurl.com...] 2. Romney has the skills to be President, Obama the skills to run for officeNo one becomes President of the United States without some very strong skills. Governor Romney's skills are in business and administration. Business skills relate to understanding the capitalist system and that is what is required for jobs and prosperity. Administrative skills are derived from Romney's experience as a business executive and as a governor in a state with a legislature under 85% Democrat control. By contrast, Obama's skills are in the art of politics, and derive from his experience as a community organizer. The job of a community organizer is to get benefits from government to please a limited constituency. Community organizers do not worry about how they are paid for. On a national level, Obama divides the electorate into groups and promises each some benefit. There are not enough rich people to pay for what is promised, but he supposes there are.Competence is measured objectively in terms of success. Romney ran Bain Capital and built an extraordinary record of success. Bain's business was mainly making failed ventures successful, and Bain had 70% success rate. In each case of Bain investment, the alternative was to let a company fail, losing all the jobs and nearly all the wealth. As Governor of Massachusetts, he worked successfully with an 85% Democrat legislative opposition. He met with Democrats weekly, and received high marks from his opponents. Romney turned around the 2002 Olympics, which had been struggling with scandals and financial problems. Free enterprise versus BureaucracyRomeycare is sometimes claimed to be like Obamacare, but the differences are dramatic. Massachusetts is a relatively rich state, and had only 4% of the population uninsured. Romneycare was limited to helping that 4%. The legislation was 75 pages and it's worked fine in Massachusetts precisely because it did not revolutionize the system. Obamacare starts with 2700 pages of legislation setting up 159 new agencies and boards [5. http://tinyurl.com...] and imposing 23 new taxes. Compliance with the tax rules alone is estimated by the IRS to take taxpayers 80 million hours. [6. http://tinyurl.com...] There is a fundamental difference in ideology. Romney used a minimum amount of government to provide a social safety net. Obama believes that government should determine the details of how society functions, and then impose that will through elaborate rules administered by a bureaucracy. The Environmental Protection Agency last year imposed rules on utilities that will ultimately cost consumers $7 trillion. Congress didn't vote on it, and it won't appear on anyone's tax bill. The Americans with Disabilities Act has new rules that require elevators in swimming pools, among a catalog of obscure and expensive regulations. A highly-trained professional is required to determine compliance. The total regulatory costs are now estimated at an astounding $1.8 trillion per year. [7. http://tinyurl.com...] These are not taxes or the cost of any service, but the costs born solely to ensure compliance. By comparison, the IRS collects about $2.3 trillion in taxes each year. A crippling burden is put on the economy without any explicit taxes.3. Leading from Behind in Foreign Affairs U.S. status has plunged under Obama, damaging the country's ability to lead and to peacefully resolve disputes. The policy of deliberately diminishing U.S. status was dubbed “leading from behind” by an Obama aide. President Obama's apology tour raised expectations in the Arab world, but recently a Zogby poll showed, “Arab approval of the United States in the Middle East has plummeted so drastically that it now is lower than it was during the presidency of George W. Bush, according to a startling new survey.” [8.http://tinyurl.com...] A worldwide poll also shows the drop in US standing, “The overall rankings, based on the percentage of people who said the country or countries had a positive effect, in descending order were: Japan, Germany, Canada, Britain, China, France, the European Union, the United States, Brazil, India, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.” [9. http://tinyurl.com... ] The diminished status an Obama choice. But underlying that style [of leading from behind], assures this Obama adviser, there really are ideas. Indeed, “two unspoken beliefs,” explains Lizza. “That the relative power of the U.S. is declining, as rivals like China rise, and that the U.S. is reviled in many parts of the world.” Amazing. This is why Obama is deliberately diminishing American presence, standing, and leadership in the world? [10. http://tinyurl.com... ] The education system is failing as well. “The United States has fallen to "average" in international education rankings released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ...” [11. http://tinyurl.com... ] --- The country needs competence and freedom from government. It's Romney.