The RNC last week featured several character witnesses for Governor Romney, including members of his church who could tell specific stories about his private life. At the DNC last night, however, many of the speakers were there as policy witnesses for President Obama — to testify about the the President’s decisions in the White House and how they have been personally impacted. The lineup included Lily Ledbetter, who embodies the first law the President signed both in name and cause. Ledbetter said that because of the President’s leadership, “women who faced pay discrimination like I did will now get their day in court.” Another speaker was Stacy Lihn, whose daughter was born with congenital heart defect and said the Affordable Care Act is “saving my daughter’s life.”
Another policy witness was Tammy Duckworth, one of the first women to serve in combat in the Iraq war. She praised the President for promoting “fairness in the military,” and said, “don’t you think it’s time we stop being surprised that America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty as her sons.” Duckworth is proof of that fact — the commander of a Blackhawk helicopter company, who after her chopper was hit by an IED and her legs were blown off, “kept flying” until she “passed out.” Duckworth is now running for U.S. Congress in Illinois against Tea Party Freshman Joe Walsh, and leads in that race by 9 points according to the latest polling.
President Obama has made veteran’s issues, especially unemployment, a priority in his administration. He signed the VOW to Hire Heroes Act last November, which provided businesses tax credits for hiring jobless or disabled veterans, and the impact has been remarkable. Last July, the overall unemployment rate for veterans hit a three-year low of 6.9%. And the unemployment rate for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has fallen by 3.5 percentage points, from 12.4% in July of 2011 to 8.9% this past July. These statistics were not mentioned last night, and need no policy witness — they speak for themselves.
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