Four years ago, America was heading into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the economy is getting better. We have ended the war in Iraq, we are pulling troops out of Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden is dead. In these trying times, President Obama has provided steady leadership, and I am proud to endorse him for re-election.
This endorsement does not come from an Obama groupie or partisan Democrat. In fact, I am voting for Republicans for U.S. Senate and for the House of Representatives.
But I support the president because of what I see is a fundamental choice between visions for America. Governor Mitt Romney made his view of America very clear when he said that his job is "not to worry about those people," the 47 percent of Americans who are too poor to pay federal income taxes. He said that these Americans - including veterans, the mentally ill and the marginalized urban poor - "believe that they are victims" and refuse to take responsibility for their lives. These atrocious comments disqualify Romney as a candidate for president, and they show a fundamental lack of understanding of why there is poverty and suffering in the United States. He cannot be a president for all Americans when he believes that only half of America matters.
Obama's vision is the right way forward. Whereas Romney would refuse to raise a single tax on the wealthiest Americans in order to balance the budget, Obama will pursue a balanced approach of revenue cuts and tax hikes. I admire his willingness to take this unpopular stand. A tax cut is much easier to sell than a tax hike. But these are difficult fiscal times, and we must have leaders who are willing to tell the American people the hard truth.
Obama understands that the gap between the middle class and the wealthy has never been larger, and that the economy is strongest when this gap shrinks, like it did after World War II.
Over the last four years, this president has shown tremendous political courage. Only a man of great courage could have passed health care reform in a divided America. He did it because he knew that the status quo was unsustainable; he did it for love of country. No matter what he proposed, this president has faced historic levels of obstructionism by extremist Republicans in Congress - the same people who would likely hijack a Romney presidency. Obama, unlike his opponent, is a man of conviction who believes in the potential of every American.
History will remember Obama. He came into office during a crisis of epic proportions. Americans were reeling from the irresponsible, reckless policies of the previous administration and we had lost faith in the presidency. Today, our country is healing, and we are on the road to recovery.
The choice in this election is clear: Will we elect a man who believes only in America's privileged? Or will we re-elect the man who has spent every day of the last four years fighting for all Americans? For a brighter future, for a stronger middle class and for a safer, healthier America, I urge you to give Obama four more years.
Garret Johnson '14 is an independent from Boxford, Mass., who has lived through four years of Mitt Romney and believes that America deserves better.
