Today, many of us will go to the polls and vote for this country’s next president. Some will vote to keep the incumbent, President Barack Obama, in office for four more years. Some will vote for Mitt Romney, feeling like he can turn around (an already recovering) economy and move our nation forward.
I’m voting for Barack Obama for a number of reasons, one of which is he’s the first President I ever voted for. After spending most of my life with different views than I have now, the timing for me to cast my first vote ever couldn’t have been better. Our nation was on the brink of, probably, the second worst economic crisis in its history. The young junior Senator from Chicago was a rising star in the political world and, oh yeah, he just happened to be the first Black candidate with a legitimate chance of being elected. History was being made and I was going to be a part of it.
Then, the rose colored glasses transitioned back to clear. The honeymoon was over and the gloves were off. Politics as usual ran amok, much to the chagrin of not only our newly elected President but also to those who had voted for him. He promised change in the way politics were done in this country. He promised! We all should’ve known, himself included, that there was no changing the way politics are done in this country. Barack Obama would later admit his naivety on this subject, calling it his biggest failure during his presidency, near the tail end of his first term.
But, in spite of a unsupportive Congress, consisting of many politicians who made it “their #1 priority to make Barack Obama a one term President”, Obama actually got some things accomplished. He reformed healthcare, giving millions who either lacked health insurance or lacked sufficient coverage an opportunity to have access to affordable options. He saved the auto industry with a very unpopular but very successful bailout plan (originally put in place by the preceding administration), and eliminated the decades long unwritten code of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell regarding our gay and lesbian servicemen and women. Obama also made decisions to slowly aid in the recovery of our nation’s economy, bringing us out of a recession that was seemingly driving this country towards another Depression period that was predicted to be worse than the Great Depression. Barack Obama made some good decisions and he made some questionable ones. But at the end of the day, our President made decisions that put our country back on the right track after the Bush Administration dragged us through a war that lasted over 10 years and drained our financial resources.
Simply put, Obama has honestly put the concerns of the average American citizen on his agenda and has worked very hard to keep those concerns at the forefront. I’m sure there are other things that Obama has on his agenda, a lot of that being personal political gains. But the progress this country has made during his time in office, as slow as it has come, cannot be overlooked. Unemployment skyrocketed to 10% in 2009, but as of the last jobs report on November 2, 2012, that number dropped drastically to 7.9% (a number that many critics say is not a “true” number). Obama vowed to get unemployment under 8% by 2009, so I guess you can say it took a little bit longer than he promised it would. But he got it done. While it’s a little bit difficult to tally up the exact number of jobs that have been created under Obama, it is safe to say that the gains, taking into account the number of jobs lost as well, are pretty significant.
“So what?”, some people might say. Many people feel that even though Obama has done some good while he’s been in office, it just isn’t good enough. Unemployment is still too high, gas prices are ridiculous, the price of pretty much everything is steadily rising, the national debt is insurmountable, the average citizen probably isn’t making enough money and the economy is still struggling. I agree with all of that. Many political leaders say Obama has failed the country, has not shown adequate leadership, and should not be granted a second term. I wholeheartedly disagree with that. For the same reasoning that George Bush was granted a second term, Obama should be re-elected. Bush thrust this nation into a war that could not be won, and the intent was not to win the war. He was re-elected to “finish the job” and bring the troops home (remember Mission Accomplished? That was in 2003). When Bush left office after his second term, there was no clear timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama put the finishing touches on Bush’s plan for troop withdrawal from Iraq and drew up plans for complete withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan and began that drawdown last year. Just like he inherited those two wars, he inherited a crumbling economy. His administration has worked tirelessly to put the economy on the road to recovery. Just like politicians and voters were wary of letting a new commander in chief take charge of that precarious situation in the Middle East, they should be equally confident in allowing President Obama to finish the job of economic recovery.
Ask anyone what Mitt Romney’s plan to continue economic growth is and I’ll bet they won’t know. What we do know is he initially planned on reversing pretty much every policy and piece of legislation that Obama has put into place (If he were to be elected and he attempted to do just that, it would take at least an entire term just for that to occur. Sounds like another wasted four years by a Republican). But as recently as the last debate, Romney stated that he agreed with a lot of Obama’s policies and ideas. If that is the case, why would anyone want Romney to take over? If a coach guides a team to a championship, do you fire him/ her? If a businessman brings a company out of the red and into profitability, do you allow the board to relive him/ her of their position? If a President is showing progress, do you bring in a new guy who is obviously unsure of what he would do to continue that progress? Would you bring in a new guy who nobody wanted there in the first place, but ended up being “the guy” by default?
Today, I’ll be voting for a second term for the President. I see no reason why I should not. I’m asking; if anyone who reads this blog plans to vote for Mitt Romney, and it is your prerogative to do so if you choose, just answer this question honestly. Why?
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