MORE CAMPAIGN THOUGHTS

Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP

         Throughout the Republican primaries in every debate and whenever and wherever he spoke, Mitt Romney was unrelenting in his criticism of President Obama. In his response to almost every question he was asked in the debates, no matter what the subject, Governor Romney managed to work in an attack on the President.                                                                              
         Now that Mr. Obama has begun campaigning and is pointing out the differences between Governor Romney’s ideas and experience and his own, he is being criticized for being negative. I can hardly wait for the presidential debates, when the difference in the rhetoric and styles of the two candidates will be plain for all to see and hear.
         Let’s hope the moderators and panelists will hold both men accountable for their statements, and call to their and the viewers’ attention the inconsistencies, false claims,  misrepresentations, and flip-flops of which either one of them is guilty. There’s no question in my mind as to which of the two candidates has much more explaining to do!

         Following his bungling effort to explain why he opposes Obamacare when it was modeled after Romneycare, even his base supporters were wondering if Mr. Romney would ever get his story straight. After shocking them by declaring that the cost to those who opt out of the insurance plan is a penalty not a tax, the Governor caved in to them and did a complete about face. Even the Wall Street Journal has been critical of the Romney campaign’s confusion over the health care issue.
         As I pointed out in my June 14 post, Mr. Romney is in an awkward position. He can’t point to his one positive accomplishment as Governor of Massachusetts, his State health care plan, while at the same time attacking the President for instituting a similar plan for the nation.
         Governor Romney hopes to convince the American people that he can do more for them as President than can President Obama. He needs to be specific about what he plans to do and how he expects to pay for it.
         President Obama simply needs to point to what he has already done and show that the country has been moving in the right direction under his leadership. He is the first to admit there is more to be done, but he has much more to point to than does Mr. Romney.