"Forward"...Is it Just a Shiny Lure?

Yesterday, CNN's LZ Granderson wrote an article called, "Why Hope and Change is Dead, Forward Lives."   At first, I was a little astonished that Granderson was hitting President Obama so hard.  He even started off writing about one of the most embarrassing jokes from Saturday's White House Correspondence dinner.

He quoted Jimmy Kimmel when he said, "Mr. President, do you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow?  That was hilarious.  That was your best one yet."

Ouch.

Getty Images

But Granderson quickly redirected his focus and discussed how hard this presidency has been on Obama and how he should never have made such lofty and ambitious goals before his swearing in.  He talked about how the lack of bi-partisanship has crippled his ability to reach the goals that once inspired and captivated a nation.

Granderson ended by praising the newly adopted Obama campaign slogan, "Forward." Arguing that "Forward acknowledges that things are not where Obama said they would be, but takes ownership of a record that shows at least he has pointed us in the right direction."

Please.

Excuse me while I let my stomach settle.

The only reason that this president has abandoned "Hope & Change" and with replaced it with "Forward" is because he is hoping that "Forward" will discourage anyone from actually looking back to see all that has failed during the last 3 1/2 years or worse yet, see what he was unable to accomplish.

Does Obama's campaign staff really think that no one has been paying attention to the policies and procedures that have failed under his watch?

***

The Obama campaign released a web tool called, "The Life of Julia."  It is a slide show that shows a fictional character from age 3 to 67 and explains how Obama's policies would help her and how the policies of President Romney would be detrimental to her well-being and quality of life.

(Is it a surprise to anyone that "Julia" is a female character?  It is almost comical how hard they are trying to secure the loyalty of the female voter).

The slideshow tries demonstrate how loving and empathetic President Obama's policies are.  And that under Obama's policies,  Julia can go to college, have health care, get equal pay and have an overly abundant and secure retirement as she collects her social security benefits.

In contrast, they inadvertently suggest that Mitt Romney actually hates her and that he wants her to be miserable paying off her student loans, he wants to strip her of birth control, he wants her to be unable to access health care, he wants her to always be paid less than her male co-workers and then at the age of 67, Mitt Romney wants her to be helpless as she lives on a 40% cut of her social security benefits.

Ridiculous.

The Obama camp is hoping that the use of tech savvy campaign tools, catchy campaign slogans and incessant distortions will somehow distract voters from the dismal reality of the past three + years.  Like a shiny lure with sparkly feel good effects, they are hoping to keep us looking "forward."  Obviously they can't afford to have anyone looking back.

Problem?

Mitt Romney is going to hold this president accountable for his record.

Jamelle Bouie

Romney will thankfully remind us of the pains, sorrows, heartache and frustration that we have all felt as our country attempts to emerge from the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Romney will incessantly remind us that this president's vision did not work.  That this president's leadership was lacking and that even with a majority in the House and Senate, this president's plans and policies have failed.

Romney will incessantly remind us of the unsuccessful and astronomically expensive programs managed by this president.  He will incessantly remind us that the unemployment rate in this country remains over the 8% bar this president set for himself.  He will remind us that this housing market is still crumbling.  Among other things, he will remind us that more Americans live on food stamps than any other time in history and that gas prices have doubled under Obama's watch.

He will incessantly remind us, "It is still the economy....and we aren't stupid."

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The RNC's response to the Julia ad?

They said, "Julia is bummed.  Her share of the national debt went up $16,345 under Obama and she now pays double for gas from what she paid three years ago."

Love it.

So try as they may, voters won't easily forget and invitations to look "forward" will be seen as nothing but a shiny lure--a shiny lure that offers nothing but an extension to the same failed policies which have diminished hopes and broken the American Dream.

I am confident that Americans will look at Romney's resume and begin to see that he doesn't offer shiny lures with empty promises, but rather he offers a proven life line to help us get back on our feet.

It is time to hold this president accountable.

We need Mitt.