November 5, 2012 7:26 AM

Why I'm voting for Barack Obama...and why you should, too

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

  • Stephen Covey

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower

There comes a point in every person’s life when the need arises for them to stand up and make clear what they stand for. The latter stages of a Presidential campaign would certainly seem to be that time. Nonetheless, after campaigning for the past seven years, America still doesn’t know who Mitt Romney is or what he stands for. In the case of Barack Obama, after four years in office we know exactly who he is and what he stands for. While his term has in many instances fallen short of promises and expectations, President Obama has stood for a vision of America in which everyone pulls together and looks out for one another. That vision, especially when contrasted with the every-man-for-himself, I-got-mine-you-can-get-your-own philosophy of Mitt Romney and the GOP, is deserving of another four-year term.

I’ve spent a lot of time writing about why a vote for Mitt Romney is misguided and wrong for America. It’s well-established that Romney is a shameless liar for whom mendacity is just another implement in his campaign’s toolbox. Making up facts and lying with alacrity is no prescription for leadership. This time, though, I want to shift away from being virulrntly anti-Romney to explaining why Barack Obama, while certainly not a perfect President, is damned sight better than the alternative.

Though the President has been frequently stymied by Republican intransigence and their willingness to see America burn before granting him a victory, there have been many notable successes that deserve to be celebrated. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, saving the auto industry, ending the war in Iraq, and ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are significant accomplishments that make America a safer, more prosperious, and more equitable place. Certainly, there’s much remaining to be done, but it’s clear that the Republican nominee has no interest in equity, fairness, or a sensible defense policy.

Barack Obama took office during the depths of one of the worst recessions in our nation’s history. Despite Gov. Romney’s (inaccurate and dishonest) protestations that President Obama made things worst, the opposite is true. The American economy climbed out of the recession, though there’s still a long way to go before anyone can reasonably claim victory. The stimulus shepherded by the President saved Detroit and the American auto industry, as well as propping up many other sectors of the economy and allowing businesses nationwide to survive very hard times. President Obama took action, and while he cannot be solely credited with bringing the economy back from the brink, without his decisive leadership and action, one shudders to think where we might be today if Sen. John McCain had won in 2008.

The President has had the past four years to make his case, and he’s done so. No, he’s not what Liberals wanted him to be, but truth be told he never sold himself as a Liberal. We on the Far Left projected that onto him because after eight years of George W. Bush we were almost irrational with excitement and anticipation. Barack Obama has a clear record and a body of work, something that Mitt Romney doesn’t- not because Romney lacks accomplishments, but because no one can be certain WHICH Mitt Romney is running for President. Is it Moderate Mitt? Severly Conservative Mitt? Or RomneyCare Mitt from his days as Governor of Massachusetts? This President is a known quantity; Mitt Romney is a crap shoot and a huge gamble. Unwilling to live in the realm of the specific, Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), have adopted a “Trust us; we’ll fill in the details after we’re elected” approach which seems a recipe for disaster. When two candidates have demonstrated themselves as sociopaths unwilling to deal in truth and facts, how can they be trusted to govern honestly and truthfully?

Barack Obama has not been a perfect President, but I believe that he’s done his level best in extremely adverse circumstances. His honesty and openness stand in stark contrast to Romney’s patrician air of self-superiority and Ryan’s callous Randian self-righteousness. Toss in Joe Biden’s willingness to speak the truth, and you have a President and Vice-President vastly superior to the alternative. It’s a stark choice: a President and Vice-President who have guided America through four tough years…or a Republican ticket beholden to the 1% and committed to a vision of a two-tiered America unburdened by the social contract.

For my part, I’m voting for Barack Obama. There’s still much to be done, but the alternative offered by Mitt Romney is a terrifying and uncertain leap of faith America simply can’t afford. From where I sit, the question is simple and the answer even more so:

Are we better when we pull together and support one another, or is America a place where compassion and commitment to the social contract are to be viewed as signs of weakness?

Please join me in voting for Barack Obama, because we simply can’t afford to turn America over to sociopaths devoid of honesty and integrity. America deserves better.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 5, 2012 7:26 AM.

Remember to vote- If only to keep these idjits from getting their way was the previous entry in this blog.

Tomorrow only the undead and the brain-dead will be voting for Mitt Romney is the next entry in this blog.

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