In 2008, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama built his presidential campaign on the idea of hope and change. That theme resonated well with millennials and other Americans unhappy with our country’s state of affairs at that time.
Fast-forward four years: Obama is president and running for re-election. No longer is he a blank slate upon whom people can tack all of their hopes.
Obama’s had his struggles. For instance, he should have directed more of his attention on the economy rather than on health care. With that “should have” and several others, Obama might not be the best candidate for office, but pitted against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, he is the best option we have.
After much debate, our editorial board has decided to endorse Obama in this election.
While Romney champions himself as the solution to economic recovery, he has not proposed specifics on how he would do so. For instance, his five-point plan is incredibly broad. For someone who says he will solve the economic problems, why are his approaches so unclear?
Romney also desires to spend more on defense and cut down on programs that benefit groups such as the poor and disabled. While it is important to have a strong military, it should not be at the expense of other necessary programs.
Another concern with Romney is that he is a flip-flopper. For instance, in an interview with The Des Moines Register, Romney said he would not introduce abortion laws. However, his campaign website suggested that he would introduce legislation that made abortion illegal, according to an article in The Global Post in October. Candidates should be willing to compromise, but comprising involves clearly stating one’s own views and then being transparent. It is dangerous to elect someone who is not forward about what he originally believes.
In comparison to Romney, Obama is the stronger candidate. He supports small businesses and offers realistic approaches to social issues — he supports a woman’s right to choose what is best for her body — and foreign policy — he appropriately directed us away from an overly broad war on terror to a war that focused on specific terrorists.
He is also joined by a cabinet much stronger than what Romney’s would be. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, has raised public awareness on a variety of issues and has improved moral overseas.
While a new candidate might perform better than Obama, Obama would outperform Romney on a variety of issues.
We’ve seen what Obama can do and hope he can perform better to bring us out of the economic crisis and several foreign issues we are invested in.