A President's Plea for More Time

In last night's State of the Union address, one thing was abundantly clear--it is obviously an election year. President Obama, like presidents past, used the pulpit to deliver a message that sounded a lot like a campaign stump speech.  A message about what an Obama second term would look like.  A message about why he deserves more time.

Problem?  It was full of bold ideas that should have been implemented in the first two years when Obama had a Democratic controlled House and Senate.  Why didn't Obama take better advantage of that fully cooperative political environment?  Answer?  He was too focused on the wrong things.  More importantly, he didn't know how to govern.


From the beginning, Obama was fixated on the wrong things.  Fixated on fundamentally "changing" America.  Initially, he was fixated on healthcare reform.  By all accounts, healthcare reform should have been the easiest thing for a Democratic controlled House and Senate to pass.  It wasn't.  Countless meetings were held behind closed doors, yet Obama's message was not resonating--even with his friends.  Furthermore, the American people were sharply opposed to the legislation.  


The president did not listen and for 15 straight months, he continued to push this reform.


The bill was unpopular with Conservatives, Moderate Democrats as well as the American people--at passage, only 42% percent supported the initiative.  There was virtually no bi-partisan support--only one Republican senator voted in favor of the bill.  But, Obama continued to push.  Back door meetings and rumors of deals being struck in an effort to secure votes with moderate Democrats continued to dominate the headlines.

Despite huge opposition, Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi got the votes needed and in March 2010, the Affordable Care Act was passed.  A bill that proposes to spend $1.055 trillion to add 36 million Americans to the insurance rolls.


Even two years later, this legislation remains extremely controversial. 

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While the president focused on healthcare reform, our economy was in crisis.  Millions of Americans were out of work, unemployment numbers were rising and millions were on the verge of losing their homes.  


It was and continues to be a desperate time, yet where is the leadership to help us turn it around?

Obama passed a $785 Billion dollar stimulus bill to artificially stimulate the economy.  It did not work.  Many analysts question if it actually made things worse.  $785 Billion dollars and we have nothing to show for it.  


Poor judgement.  Poor vision.  Poor leadership.


Although last night's State of the Union speech was full of bold proposals, most critics labeled it a campaign speech full of rhetoric rather than a true legislative agenda.  


The overall theme of his speech was "Fairness."  Arguing the need for greater government power to balance the scale between America's wealthy and poor.  He stressed the gap between “a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by.” He reinforced his 2008 campaign themes of an America “where everyone gets a fair shot.”


This time around it was labeled as "fairness," but a closer look shows that "fairness" is just a different way of advocating what many argue is a socialist principal of the wealth distribution.  A "fundamental change" that most Americans still don't want.

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Last night, Obama made a plea for a second term.  A plea for more time.  Did he make his case? 


His first three years in office brought us:
-  A spike of an astronomical figure of $4 Trillion dollars to our national debt
-  No end in sight for the housing crisis 
-  Stagnant employment
-  A drop in our country's credit rating--first time in history
-  An extremely divided nation.  


I guess healthcare reform will be his lasting legacy?  (Too bad that every one of his opponents have declared to repeal it on day one).


Can the American people trust him to revive our crippled economy? 


His record demonstrates that he is not capable of it.  Time is not what Obama needs.  Beautifully written and eloquent speeches have not helped us.  His programs have failed.  His initiatives have not worked.  What would be different in a second term?


America needs a different kind of leadership.  America deserves more.

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America needs a leader that sees beyond the restrictive tunnel of a political party.  A leader that has an expert vision for achievable prosperity.  A leader that can inspire political rivals to unite and find common ground.  A leader that has a long history in successfully making weak things stronger.   Unlike our current President and the other Republican candidates, Mitt Romney has years of this kind of success.  And he has done it over and over.

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Mitt Romney has the unique experience of governing a state, rescuing and overseeing the 2002 Olympics, and time and again, restoring broken companies and organizations.  Americans deserve a stronger, more prosperous nation.  We need Mitt's expertise to help us achieve it.