Dishonors Political Process – Romney vs Obama

Dear Editor, 

The Wave was absolutely right to encourage us to honor the political process by casting an informed vote this November. Two sentences later, it dishonored that process with a shallow and deceitful characterization of the two main candidates for President. 

I look forward to learning more about Mitt Romney in the debates. It seems clear he is a problem solver. Whether he is up to the challenge of solving our nation’s problems is still unknown. I do know from unbiased reports (CNN, etc.) that he cares about people. He has quietly helped many folks in need. I find that honorable. Will he get my vote for President? I need to learn more before casting an informed vote. 

President Obama, on the other hand, seems like a nice guy and I am sure he cares about our quality of life. That is hardly a distinguishing qualification. His track record is distinguished. He has failed to live up to his promises on the issues that most impact the quality of life for Americans and their children. 

The President, after he took office, promised us that his “stimulus” program would keep unemployment under 8 percent. It has stayed above 8 percent for almost his entire presidency. And it is only that low because many millions have abandoned hope of getting a job. How can your quality of life improve if you can’t feed your family? 

The President, after he took office, promised to cut the deficit in half. His predecessor had an abysmal record on debt. Still, prior to the financial crisis of 2008, George W. Bush never had a deficit as high as $600 billion. President Obama has kept our annual deficit well above one trillion dollars each year, borrowing enormous sums of money from future generations. Indeed, his own projections don’t call for the annual deficit to fall below $600 billion more than once in the next 10 years! How can our children and grandchildren improve their quality of life if they are born into enormous debt? 

The choices are clear. Our current President has a clear record of failure that is undermining our quality of life and this country’s future. Mitt Romney has a clear record of solving problem in business and the public sector … but he still hasn’t made a good enough case that he deserves our vote. I hope everyone tunes in to the debates all month so that they can cast an informed vote. I also hope Mr. Romney proves worthy of the presidency. If not, our prospects for improved quality of life are awful. 

PAUL KING