This is it. The debates are long gone, the campaigning is almost over and both candidates agree that the most important presidential election in recent history is now upon us. So where do we stand?
For the president, there is slow but solid improvement in almost all the economic indices — from consumer confidence to housing to the workplace. He promised to bring two intractable wars to an end, and he did. When nobody would offer a lifeline to an auto industry that was drowning, he jumped in himself and used government resources to save an industry that had almost died. He promised to reinvigorate the hunt for the man responsible for 9/11 — and now the body of Osama bin Laden lies at the bottom of the north Arabian Sea.
So that’s the president of the United States. But what of his challenger, Mitt Romney?
We could spend hours trying to decipher what he really believes. But in the absence of any true convictions, his candidacy is probably best summed-up by the number 47.
Mitt Romney was born in 1947, and 47 is all you need to know about him — in theory and in practice.
In practice, when he was governor of Massachusetts, his state was 47th in job creation. 47th. He tells us now that a 20% tax cut will miraculously create millions of jobs, but economists say this is nonsense. And we know his record in practice. 47th. But perhaps even more troubling is Mitt Romney’s view of the nation. In the safety of a gilded fundraiser in Florida, he revealed what he really thinks about this country. And here’s what he said, in his own words: There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. In theory, Mr. Romney derides 47% — almost half the nation — as victims and hopeless scroungers. And in practice, when he was governor, his state was 47th in job creation. On the basis of his record, Mr. Romney does not deserve to be president. On the basis of his words, he should be disqualified. And it’s your vote that will do just that… So get out there and exercise it.
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