– How the race is shaping up for 2012.
(Click for AUDIO VERSION)
To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.
The presidential race is now in full swing, and we didn’t even have to wait for the party conventions which normally denote the start of the official race. Then again, I don’t think anyone is really surprised the race would be between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. Obama is the unchallenged incumbent, and Romney has been begging for this opportunity ever since he lost to John McCain in 2008. The differences between the two candidates are startling.
The president will desperately do anything to prevent voters from scrutinizing his true record which includes a broken economy and skyrocketing debt. He may be a master politician, but his management skills score badly, particularly in the area of leadership. Thus far he has offered no proposals for correcting Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, the budget deficit, protecting our borders, or providing any direction for the country to follow other than deeper into debt. He stands at the helm of a bloated bureaucratic government that is becoming more invasive in our lives and discourages business. He certainly cannot admonish the country to “Stay the course” as all of the economic indicators point to disaster. What Obama lacks in governing skills, he makes up for as a demagogue obsessed with his ideological view of America. Instead of looking for ways to negotiate a respectable budget or broker changes to the debt ceiling, he wallows in polarized politics at the country’s expense.
This election is certainly not about race or the 1% (even though the left would have you think otherwise); it’s about failed policies and leadership. Ask yourself the question, what are the priorities of the country? What is our direction? Is it space? Energy independence? Becoming fiscally responsible? Instead, he fabricates catch phrases such as “paying fair share of taxes,” an expression aimed at dividing the classes. He also wants to move towards Green energy, and allow spending and entitlements to go unabated. He is quick to accuse the Republicans of playing politics with the nation’s economy, but feigns innocence of any political wrongdoing himself. Is this being hypocritical or just an example of sleight of hand? The country is now more divided than when he was inaugurated.
I find it rather ironic that President Obama who desperately wants to be compared to Ronald Reagan is primarily responsible for transforming Mitt Romney into the next Reagan. Originally considered a moderate, Romney is being pushed to the right by Obama’s election campaign where he is being portrayed as a right-wing zealot. The vicious GOP primaries galvanized Romney and made him a more polished politician who is now more than ready to withstand the slings and arrows the president will undoubtedly throw at him. Now, as the Republican contender, he is beginning to act and sound more like Ronald Reagan. For example, consider his acceptance speech on April 24, 2012:
“We believe in America. We believe in ourselves. Our greatest days are still ahead. We are, after all, Americans!”
And now compare it to Reagan who said:
“America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”
Both quotations are positive, uplifting and optimistic. Romney is obviously taking a page from the Reagan playbook.
Frankly, Romney was not my first choice in the GOP primaries, but I am now gravitating towards him. I have heard people complain about Romney being a Mormon, and as such, they cannot vote for him based on religious grounds. Such people have to be reminded, this election is about the economy, unemployment, energy independence, and maintaining our mantle as the leader of the free world. It is certainly not about being a Mormon, it is about our survival.
As part of his program on class warfare, the President wants people to resent Romney’s success as a businessman. Under no condition should Romney apologize. After all, as we live in the land of opportunity, Romney experienced the American dream. What would be the alternative; electing a failure? I don’t think so.
After studying all the facts, I cannot imagine an intelligent person voting for Obama. They either have a distorted interpretation of reality or they have drunk his “Kool Aid.”
I’ve been thinking long and hard about Obama’s legacy when he is voted out of office in November. He will not be remembered for rebuilding the economy, Obamacare, or “hope and change” in uniting the country. Instead, I believe he will best be remembered as the element which reignited the conservative movement in this country. It wasn’t Romney who lit the fire, it was the president who ignited our passions and taught the country to ever be diligent and never take elections for granted again. For this, we should be grateful to him for teaching us this valuable lesson regardless how painful it was for us to learn. Whereas he liked to portray former President George W. Bush as the poster child for failure, Obama’s legacy will be as the worst president in our history.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at [email protected]
For Tim’s columns, see:
timbryce.com
Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.
Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
NEXT UP: THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES-THE 2012 EDITION – with apologies to Hans Christian Andersen