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Mitt Romney: The Man Who Would be President
From the Right of Center
By: Liam Walsh
With over 16 months before we vote for our next president its
tempting to think that we, the youth, shouldn't pay close attention to
presidential politics and the current batch of announced candidates.
I
hope that by the end of this column you'll realize that time is of the
essence, and our participation in the coming days, weeks and months ahead
will
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| Mitt Romney © mittromney.com |
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| play a major role in who becomes the nominees of the two major parties.
I want to speak with you about a man whom I believe would be our next
president if the right conditions present themselves in the coming months – Mitt Romney. First, however, I feel it to be important for you to
understand how we got to this point in the race. It was assumed, just a few months prior to the November midterm
elections, that Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia and Democratic
Senator Hillary Clinton of New York were the presumptive nominees of their respective parties. Its funny how time on the plaudits of
self-congratulation and an almost certain guarantee of electoral victory in
his senatorial race, Allen made the now infamous "Macca" statement, calling
an intern of Indian descent from the Jim Webb campaign a French racist term
meaning 'monkey.' Despite his claims afterwards of naivety to the meaning
of the word, the damage was done as the video grew in popularity in YouTube
and Allen lost the election. Because of this misstatement and exposure,
yet again, of Allen's bigotry, Romney, once considered a long shot, has
arguably emerged as the right's best hope for capturing the presidency as he
continues his positive message of strong leadership and constrained
government spending. |
Senator Clinton has also suffered the slings and arrows of her inability to
admit what her base is calling for – a candid confession that she was wrong
in voting for the Iraqi war. Her political calculations which have led her
to issue non-apologies for her vote so that she can appeal to the liberal
base who were always against the war, and also to certain types of
Republicans who might vote for her, are mistaken. She should be brave and
admit to her base that she was wrong. Instead she has left it up to her
Democratic opponents in the race, such as former Senator and Vice
Presidential nominee, John Edwards, to define her position on her vote as
failing to have a backbone. A principled person would admit her mistakes
and move on, not try to triangulate voting bases and issue non-apologies.
As a direct result of her mistakes and the steady popularity of his most
recent book The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama, has risen in popularity
among the youth voting block and is currently accumulating wealthy and
well-connected supporters, who just a few months ago, were assumed by the
Clinton campaign to be shoo-ins for their support of Hillary.
So after that brief digression on the background of the race, its important
for me to discuss the qualities and reasons why I think a Romney presidency
is in the best interests of our country. One key universal element of any
successful and adored US president is his ability to be an articulate public
speaker. Romney oratory skills hail from the likes of FDR, Kennedy, Reagan
and Clinton. Quick to turn a phrase and deep in thought throughout his
speeches, Romney would bring exactly what our country needs – a speaker with
the ability to describe the goals and aspirations of the American people
with a positive vision for the future. A great orator must also be able to
stand up to criticism and call a spade a spade, something Romney excels at.
Critics on the extreme right have assailed Romney for his past positions on
abortion and gay marriage, all the while backing candidates who have
flip-flopped on issues for the sake of political gain, not out of a genuine
change of heart. Take for example, John McCain, another Republican
presidential candidate, who said that Rev. Jerry Falwell, president of
Liberty University, was an "agent of intolerance." Yet just a few months
back embraced the very man whom he implied was a bigot and delivered the
commencement address at the Falwell's university. The only thing McCain,
'The Maverick,' is good at is swaying with the wind of popular opinion and
standing on constantly fluctuating principles. Another Republican
presidential nominee is Rudy Giuliani, who has not necessarily flip-flopped
on the issues of abortion or gay marriage, but his current views are
inconsistent with those Republican voters who partake in the primaries –
making it highly unlikely that Rudy will survive the primaries to take the
nomination. He is a great man, with much to bring to the table, but I
believe that Romney offers a better vision for the future and is more likely
to prevail in the primaries.
Mitt's positions have evolved over time and anyone who sees this evolution
of thought as wrong fails to realize that educated men and women seek the
truth, whatever that may be, and positions can change after a deeper
reflection and more knowledge of the issues. Take for example, the recent
advances in the imaging of human embryos and how that changes the
understanding of when life begins. New knowledge brings about a healthy
debate, and I for one, am glad that Mitt is willing to look at all sides of
an issue and alter his positions if new evidence comes to light.
Unfortunately that cannot be said for all other candidates. |
So really in terms of electability, for Republicans, it comes down to Romney and McCain. The senator from Arizona's supporters have made it well known
that they do not want to see a Mormon in the White House, even if he is
fully qualified for the position. This type of outright religious bigotry
does not have our nation's best interests at heart, and I believe will
eventually be self-defeating as Romney crushes McCain in the primaries to
take the nomination. The same religious test was given to JFK, and his
strong oratorical skills and vision for the future defeated such an unfair
test. Romney will do the same. This test in addition to the unfair
criticism of Romney's heartfelt decision to reexamine his positions will
pass as well. Not too long ago, another great orator's positions evolved
over time and now he is considered to be one of the greatest American
presidents. That man was Ronald Reagan, who, like Romney, governed a
liberal state, and in so doing was able to fully embrace the principles of
bi-partisanship to deliver solid results – just as Romney did as governor of
Massachusetts.
All one has to do is watch Mitt deliver a speech on C-Span or on his website
and watch as he glad-hands his way through the crowds – always expressing a
real sense of gratitude for their support. This grip-and-grin routine is
commonplace in presidential politics and you only have to observe Romney for
a few minutes to realize that he is a rock star of the political circuit.
Being slick is one thing, but having a series of comprehensive plans to
reinvigorate America is a completely different scenario. Romney has the
entire package and his plans for continued education reform, comprehensive
health care reform – which essentially ensures that all US citizens have
health insurance, increased investment in alternative sources of energy, and
his insistence on ensuring that deficit spending does not become the norm of
our government make him stand out among the crowd. He has dealt with all
of these issues as governor of Massachusetts, including an inherited $3
billion deficit. Revealing his trademark talent at solving problems, Mitt vastly reduced the deficit – all the while without raising taxes. As a
result, the citizens of Massachusetts have seen the state's quality of life
vastly improved. The turn-around that he achieved as governor, as well as a
businessman at Bain prior to his career in politics, have shown him to be a
man whose actions back his well-crafted speeches. Romney is not your
parent's typical candidate. |
This election may be known in the future as 'The Election of Hope.' Besides
voting for a man or woman for president, voters are more importantly casting
their desire to be part of that candidate's vision of the future, and two
candidates particularly embody the ideals of firm leadership while
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| Mitt Romney © mittromney.com |
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bringing
hope to the American public – Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. After five
years of war, our country is ready to be inspired by a charismatic leader
who offers a vision of hope, even if this long war on terror carries on for
decades, as it is likely to happen. Not since the days of Bobby Kennedy
have we seen the youth so enthralled by the
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speeches of the current batch of
presidential candidates.
We should all be proud, as a nation, that we have reached a point in our
history where an African-American and a woman are seriously being considered
by the American people to become their next president. Even if neither
Obama
nor Clinton wins this election we will know that they have shattered
several glass ceilings and laid the groundwork for a more representative
American government. They should be applauded for the courage that they
have shown in this race. Certainly Dr. King and all those who were part of
the women's suffrage movement would be proud that we have reached this
moment. However, we should also take into account the candidates positions
on the issues and their past political activity. It's easy to be tempted to
vote for Obama or Clinton simply because of their race or gender, but it's
harder to step back and look at the complete package. This is where I
believe Romney trumps the aforementioned candidates.
But don't take my word for it. See it for yourself on his website (www.mittromney.com) and watch our next president lay out his clear-eyed
vision for our future. As we have seen in the past few months, anything can
happen in this race, and that is why the time to get involved is now. I
hope you'll join me along this journey to restore America to her rightful
place. |
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