Nick Brunner
Staff Reporter
With the historic win of President Barack Obama, still fresh on the minds of and rightfully being celebrated by many Americans, the fact is that nearly 60 million Americans did not vote for President Obama. With that many people not fully on board the Obama train, it is never too early to ask the question: Who has the best chance of beating President Obama in the 2012 election?
Like any American in his or her right mind, I hope and pray that the President makes the right decisions to better our nation in need of, for lack of a better term, a “kick in the butt.” I also realize that if President Obama and his administration deliver this needed kick, then he will almost certainly defeat any challenger in 2012 and secure a second term. However, after what has transpired over these first few months, many are beginning to think that this may not be the case. Between the “evasive” cabinet choices, talks of fooling around with the census, funding of overseas abortions, and most notably the nearly one trillion dollar spending bill, this may not be the change that America has been calling for.
In these tough economic times, it is imperative that America has a leader who is not only familiar with classroom economic theories and concepts, but a leader who has been able to successfully apply such knowledge under pressure on the world stage. Given the magnitude of America’s current economic situation, the best choice in 2012 to take on the nation’s problems would be Mitt Romney.
At a time when America is in need of it most, Mitt Romney’s economic prowess is second to none. He received his B.A, with Highest Honors from BYU and then continued his education in Boston at Harvard Business School where he received his MBA and was named a Baker Scholar to go along with a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.* Romney has put his education to good use both in the private business sector as well as for the good of the public. Mitt spent a few years working at Bain & Company, Inc., a leading management consulting firm, before founding Bain Capital, which has become one of the nation’s most successful venture capital and investment companies.*
Mitt’s big break into the public spotlight came when the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, chock-full of controversy and facing a staggering financial crisis. Romney left behind a successful career as an entrepreneur, and with it a substantial sum of personal income potential, to take over as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. In his three years at the helm in Salt Lake, Romney erased a $379 million operating deficit, organized 23,000 volunteers, galvanized community spirit and oversaw an unprecedented security mobilization just months after the September 11th terrorist attacks, leading to one of the most successful Olympics in our country’s history.*
After saving the games, Mitt set his sights on the state of Massachusetts. Elected Governor in 2002, Romney presided over a dramatic reversal of state fortunes and a period of sustained economic expansion.* Without raising taxes or increasing debt, Governor Romney balanced the budget every year of his administration, closing a $3 billion budget gap inherited when he took office.* By eliminating waste, streamlining the government, and enacting comprehensive economic reforms to stimulate growth in Massachusetts, Romney got the economy moving again and transformed deficits into surpluses.*
Mitt Romney believes in financial responsibility. Whether it is individuals, corporations, state, or federal governments, the key ingredient to get America back on track is living within your reasonable means.
Spending money that we don’t have is what has gotten many Americans, our corporations, and our government into this current predicament. Now, it seems as though the President and his regime plan to reconcile the problem by drastically increasing this same sort of behavior, only this time the tab will be picked up by the American taxpayers. It is not the government’s job (or rather the taxpayers’ job) to bail out all those who fail. As colorful talk show host Dennis Miller put it, “I love to help the helpless; I don’t care about the clueless. We’re helping too many of the clueless these days.”
As thousands upon thousands of Americans everywhere just last week made clear, the federal government is beginning to forget their place. On April 15th American taxpayers either pay their taxes or they go to prison (unless you have been nominated for an executive position, but that’s a separate issue). This past week, however many Americans united to make a collective statement, that they have had enough. While many of the main stream media outlets either frowned upon or simply did not mention these “tea parties” the fact of the matter is that this is a real issue and American taxpayers are fed up with the nonsense and pork-barrel spending. We can not just continue to sweep these issues under the rug because if there comes a day when they all finally snap and refuse to pay, chaos and frenzy will be forced to make all of the headlines.
The government is becoming too big for its own good and too powerful for the good of “we the people of the United States of America.” Although this problem has been around for a while, long before President Obama took office, the recent acts of his administration have only exemplified the problem. These “tea parties” are just another cry from the people to their government to wake up and remember that the money they are carelessly flinging around is that of hard working, American people.
A lot of young people were invigorated to vote in this past election, marking the highest young turnout in recent history. Hopefully, amidst the current societal conditions, they can keep that enthusiasm up into the future. But this go around, hopefully they actually take the time to study the candidates and make an informed decision for themselves, based on the actual qualities and credentials of the candidates, not just the ones portrayed on TV by the media.
If all Americans do just that and thoroughly examine the candidates, the majority will see that Mitt Romney is the extremely smart, well spoken, and successful leader that America needs in its President to get back on track.
*Mitt Romney biographical information courtesy of www.freestrongamerica.com