Opinion
Vague on Policy, Mitt Romney Gets Free Pass
O
ne of the most remarkable
things about Mitt Rom-
ney’s run for the White
House is that the presumptive
Republican nominee is allowed to
attack President Obama on every-
thing from saving the automobile
industry to immigration. Yet, the
news media rarely point out that
Romney is against many things,
especially if proposed by Presi-
dent Obama, but is usually eva-
sive on what he is for.
In a departure from the business-
as-usual coverage, Politico pub-
lished a story Sunday under the
headline: “Mitt Romney’s no-poli-
cy problem.” It stated, “Vague,
general or downright evasive poli-
cy prescriptions on some of the
most important issues facing the
country are becoming the rule for
Romney. Hoping to make the cam-
paign strictly a referendum on the
incumbent, the hyper-cautious
challenger is open about his deter-
mination to not give any fodder to
Obama aides hungry to make the
race as much about Romney as the
president.”
The most recent example
involves President Obama’s posi-
tion on the Dream Act, an
acronym for Development, Relief,
and Education for Alien Minors.
After Congress failed to pass a bill
sponsored by Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
Orrin Hatch [R-Utah], President
Obama issued an executive order
T HE C URRY
R EPORT
George E.
Curry
that incorporated many of the pro-
visions of the bill.
Under the executive order, peo-
ple younger than 30 who came to
the United States before they were
6 years old, pose no crimi-
nal or security threat, and
were successful students
or served in the military
can get a two-year deferral
from deportation.
“This is not amnesty.
This is not immunity. This
is not a path to citizenship. It’s not
a permanent fix,” Obama said
upon signing the executive order.
“This is a temporary stopgap
measure.”
Speaking to the National Associ-
ation of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials (NALEO),
Obama said, “When I meet these
young people, all throughout com-
munities, I see myself. Who
knows what they might achieve. I
see my daughters, and my nieces,
and my nephews. That’s the prom-
ise that draws so many talented,
driven people to these shores.
That’s the promise that drew my
own father here,” said Obama,
whose father was from Kenya.
Appearing before the same
group a day earlier, Romney said,
“I will put in place my own long-
term solution that will replace and
supersede the president’s tempo-
rary measure.”
And what is Romney’s long-
term solution? We don’t know
because he isn’t saying.
Romney, with the media acting
as a willing accomplice, has also
lambasted Obama on gasoline
tures and profits are responsible
for another 6 percent; distribution
marketing and retail costs add 6
percent and taxes contribute 12
percent.
That reality notwithstanding,
Romney was able to gain media
coverage by pretending that Presi-
dent Obama, not market factors,
dictates the price of gasoline.
The price of a gallon of regular
gasoline peaked at $3.97 in April.
But that figure has since fallen to
$3.41, a decline of 56 cents per
gallon, according to the AAA.
If Obama was at fault for the
steep increase in gaso-
line prices, shouldn’t
he now get credit for
tumbling prices? Rom-
ney can’t have it both
ways.
Finally, I don’t think
a candidate’s religion
should be fair game in most
instances. That’s why I objected to
the media trying to Velcro the out-
spoken Rev. Jeremiah Wright to
candidate Barack Obama. Similar-
ly, I have advised against focusing
on Romney’s Mormonism during
this presidential election – he has
so many positions that make him
vulnerable in November. The
Obama camp should focus on his
position –when Romney takes
them – not his religion.
But if the media is going to hold
Obama responsible for the state-
And what is Romney’s long-
term solution? We don’t know
because he isn’t saying.
prices.
In an interview on FOX News,
Romney said there is “no ques-
tion” that Obama was responsible
for high gas prices.
But everyone knows that a sit-
ting president has about as much
control over gasoline prices as a
meteorologist has over the weath-
er.
The federal Energy Information
Center breaks down the cost of a
gallon of regular gasoline this
way: the cost of crude oil accounts
for 76 percent, refining expendi-
ments of Rev. Wright, then in the
interest of fairness, Romney
should be asked what he did to
repudiate the church’s former
teachings.
Although there were two Black
priests under Mormon founder
Joseph Smith, his successor,
Brigham Young, instituted a poli-
cy of excluding males of African
descent from the priesthood. In
1949, he said, “What chance is
there for the redemption of the
Negro? The Lord had cursed
Cain’s seed with blackness and
prohibited them the Priesthood.”
That policy remained in place
until 1978.
Although religion is a deeply
personal matter, you can bet your
2008 “Barack Obama for Presi-
dent” campaign button that
Republicans will resurrect Jeremi-
ah Wright’s comments this fall.
And they will do it close to Elec-
tion Day.
Political maneuvering aside,
journalists have a responsibility to
press Romney to move past his
carefully studied talking points.
And they can do that by forcing
him to share what he plans to do
beyond criticizing President
Obama.
George E. Curry, former editor-
in-chief of Emerge magazine, is
editor-in-chief of the National
Newspaper Publishers Associa-
Homeownership Declines as Number of Renters Grow
Despite some signs of housing
recovery America remains a
nation burdened by high housing
costs, according to a new report
from Harvard University. The
report, State of the Nation’s Hous-
ing 2012, finds some signs of
recovery in the housing market in
spite of continuing concerns about
foreclosures and the border econo-
my. Whether renting or buying a
home, the number of households
paying more than half of their
incomes for housing now stands at
20.2 million.
“Recovery in the owner-occu-
pied market could strengthen, if
positive job numbers and tighten-
ing markets encourage
more households to buy,”
the
report
states.
“Although young house-
holds have increasingly
opted to rent in recent
years, most still aspire to
homeownership.”
Despite declining home
sale prices and record
low rates for mortgages,
the nation’s housing
trends show a marked increase in
renters, not homeowners. Among
homeowners, home equity now
accounts for the smallest share of
household wealth since 1945
when record-keeping began. Earli-
er this year, homeownership was
at its lowest level since early 1997,
dropping more than five percent-
age points for heads of households
up to age 44 and slightly lower by
4.5 percentage points for those 45-
54 years of age.
The nation has not seen the last
of foreclosures. More than 2 mil-
lion homes in early 2012 are in
some stage of foreclosure. Nearly
R ESPONSIBLE
L ENDING
Charlene
Crowell
half of 2011 foreclosures were
clustered in only 10 percent of the
nation’s 65,000 census tracts.
Compared to recent years, fore-
closures have slowed. For exam-
ple, the number of completed
foreclosures was down from 1.1
million in 2010 to 890,000 in
renters surged by 5.1 million dur-
ing the 2000s, the largest decade-
long increase in the post-war era.
Moreover, households earning
more than $75,000 contributed
nearly 20 percent of the increase
in renters from 2006-2011.
Other key findings include:
• After paying for housing, $619
was all that was left to cover
monthly living expenses for
severely cost-burdened, low-
income families in late 2011;
• One in three 18-34 year olds
lived with their parents in 2010, an
increase of 1.95 million compared
to 2006;
• In 2001, the nation’s shortage
of affordable housing
units stood at 2.4 million;
by 2010, that shortfall
more than doubled to 5.1
million housing units.
• The number of unem-
ployed, severely-burdened
households surged from
3.8 million in 2001 to 5.8
million by 2010.
The “State of the
Nation’s Housing” is
released annually by the Joint
Center whose standing mission is
to advance understanding of hous-
ing issues. This year’s findings
echo an earlier housing report,
“Housing Landscape 2012,”
released by the Center for Housing
Policy.
The earlier report noted the
financial stress of the nation’s
growing housing burden. After
analyzing Census data on housing
costs and incomes, the Center
determined that housing afford-
ability eroded in 24 states and now
affects nearly one in four working
households.
Today, more than one in
five mortgage loans is
underwater. Together, these
loans represent $717 billion
in negative equity
2011. However many imminent
foreclosures were delayed in part
as mortgage companies awaited
the results of the recent mortgage
settlement reached by the nation’s
attorneys general. With several
major lenders agreeing to the set-
tlement terms, it is possible, if not
probable, that the pace of foreclo-
sures may speed up again.
These figures do not include the
number of homeowners who now
owe more than their home is
worth. Today, more than one in
five mortgage loans is underwa-
ter. Together, these loans represent
$717 billion in negative equity.
In the meantime, the number of
Chris Herbert, director of
research at Harvard’s Joint Center
for Housing Studies, said, “Even
as the recovery takes hold in many
markets across the country we
cannot lose sight of the long-run
challenge of providing affordable
housing for the most vulnerable,
nor forget the damage done to
foreclosure-ridden neighborhoods,
which will take years to heal.”
Charlene Crowell is a commu-
nications manager with the Center
for Responsible Lending
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June 27, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5