Pase8___________________________________
iE1’e ^ n rtla n h O^hseruer_________________ September s. 2012
haps, the subtexts in that regard will
He will recall that he ended the
be the deciding factor.
war in Iraq at the end of last year, as
Obama will be pressing hard on promised, and will put an end to the
his contention that there are and will U.S. combat mission in Afghani
be vast areas where the government stan in 2014.
better candidate to handle the U.S. can help fix the economy and put a
And he holds a powerful trump
economy. Obama is seen as by far safety net under Americans who card: His decision to order the dar
the most likable and better able to have been hard hit in the aftermath ing Navy SEAL raid that killed ter
understand the problems of ordi of the steep downturn. He's finally rorist mastermind Osama bin Laden
nary Americans. Overall the two pushing hard in support of the health at his hideout deep in Pakistan.
candidates are in one of the closest care overhaul he pushed through
Vice President Joe Biden, speak
A Divided Nation
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fron t
flooded Louisiana coast. He vowed
government officials would find out
“what can we do to make sure it
doesn't happen again.”
At times like these, “nobody's a
Democrat or a Republican, we’re all
just Americans looking out for one
another,” said the president, flanked
by local and state officials from both
parties, after inspecting some of the
damage inflicted by the storm and
hugging some of its victims.
Romney paid a similarly nonpar
tisan visit last Friday to the flooded
region but made no reference at the
time to federal aid.
Obama has been and will be argu
ing that Romney brings nothing
more to his quest for the White
House than plans and policies that
are a reprise of those employed by
former Republican President George
W. Bush, under whose watch the
Great Recession began and the fi
nancial collapse occurred.
Most Americans still hold Bush
responsible for the start of the eco
nomic difficulties afflicting the U.S.,
but they are split on which candi
date is best equipped to return the
country to robust growth.
Obama foresaw the difficulties
he faced in a Chicago speech on the
cold night of his victory as the
nation's first A frican-A m erican
president nearly four years ago.
"The road ahead will be long," he
said solemnly that November night
in Chicago, displaying none of the
euphoria of his supporters. “Our
climb will be steep. We may not get
there in one year, or even one term.
But, America, I have never been
more hopeful than I am tonight that
we will get there.”
That's a message Obama will have
to repeat vigorously under attack
from Romney who contends the
president is a nice guy who has
failed to make things better. The
Republican candidate drew a line
under that message in a statement
Monday, the U.S. Labor Day holi
day that celebrates workers and
marks the unofficial end of the sum
mer holiday season.
Romney said the holiday was “a
chance to celebrate the strong
American work ethic,” but added:
“For far too many Americans, today
is another day of worrying when
their next paycheck will come.”
Romney will be hitting hard on
his business expertise as co-founder
of Bain Capital, a private equity firm
through which he amassed a quar
ter-million dollar fortune. Polls show
most Americans see Romney as the
President Obama waves to supporters after speaking at a Labor Day rally Monday in Toledo, Ohio.
presidential contests in recent U.S. more than two years ago. It was
history.
based on a plan instituted by Rom
Their vision of America’s future ney when he was governor of M as
differs across the board and, per sachusetts, although the Republi
can candidate now promises to re
peal Obama’s version for the na
tion.
Obama is pressing for higher taxes
on Americans making more than
$250,000 a year. Romney wants to
keep Bush-era tax cuts in place, with
even steeper cuts for high-income
earners. Obama argues his plan will
help bring down the U.S. debt. Rom
Truly making a difference in the lives of
ney says his ideas will do that even
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Obam a is pressing to keep alive
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ance program for Am ericans over
Street, on the second floor
age 65. Rom ney — adopting the
above the coffee shop.
budget proposals o f his running
m ate, Rep. Paul Ryan — favors
converting the program to a sys
tem where retirees receive a gov
ernm ent voucher that they can
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use in buying insurance on the
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On foreign policy, Romney nota
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bly did not once mention the ongo
S
ing war in Afghanistan in his speech
last Thursday accepting his party’s
nomination. Obama, polls show, is
seen as far more capable of handling
Contact:
U.S. foreign policy, and he will no
doubt hit that hard when he speaks
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Thursday night at an outdoor foot
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ing to workers in Detroit on M on
day, said he could put it all on a
bumper sticker. “Osama bin Laden
is dead, General Motors is alive.”
Both Obama and Biden played
heavily to American workers in their
Labor Day speeches, particularly to
those whose jobs depend on the
auto industry.
Obama injected that industry with
huge amounts of government money
in the earliest days of his adminis
tration, preventing General Motors
and ChryslerCorp. from likely going
out of business, resulting in more
than 1 million workers losing their
jobs.
Romney opposed the auto bail
out and accuses Obama of profli
gate government spending that he
contends has done little to lift the
country out of the economic mo
rass.
As they wrestle over the role of
government, when all the chaff is
separated out, voters will be left
w ith a d e cisio n about w hich
candidate’s vision best accords
with their view of the nation.
Obama will argue government
does and can help the people who
pay taxes to keep it in operation.
Romney will counter that govern
ment is too involved in Americans'
lives and that everyone will be bet
ter off under his leadership, one
designed, he says, to minimize fed
eral involvement.
It's a classic Democratic versus
Republican argument but one that's
bulked up as if on steroids of late as
the deeply conservative tea party
movement gains increasing control
over the Republican Party with de
mands for lower taxes and smaller
government.