As voters, we know there is a fine line between a candidate who is
the “lesser of two evils” and one who has simply made some questionable
policy choices but who has ultimately been a genuine force for good.
This Tuesday when — not if, but when — you hit the polls, we urge you to
vote to reelect President Barack Obama.
Mitt Romney has failed to show a principled approach to any issue,
domestic or foreign, and seems to struggle with his conflicting
endeavors to tell people what they want to hear and to blindly uphold
the ultraconservative values of the Republican Party. President Obama
has managed to make some mistakes during his tenure so far: for example,
target killings of American citizens allegedly associated with
terrorism, and failure to close Guantanamo Bay. But much of the change
that Barack Obama promised, he has delivered in spades.
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act has achieved the most sweeping
health care reforms since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
This legislation allows individuals under age 26 to stay on their
parents’ health insurance policies — this is a big one for young adults
trying to cope with college expenses. His actions have reduced drug
costs for people on Medicare, and provided preventive care such as free
immunizations, mammograms and contraceptives. Because of President
Obama, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to people with
pre-existing conditions such as cancer, seizure disorders or mental
illnesses. In fact, as of 2014, health insurance companies must accept
all applicants.
When the president took office, the economy was in a sad state of
affairs. Trying to turn around an economy the size of the United States
is like trying to change the direction of a heavy revolving door — it’s a
gradual, painfully slow process, and you take great caution not to be
overzealous with your movements. Growth since Obama took office has been
slow, but it has been and continues to be positive. The president’s
$840 billion stimulus bill has continued to inject funds into the
economy. It created and saved 2.5 million jobs, controlled the rate of
unemployment.
Under President Obama, Congress has actually passed tax write-offs
for new business equipment, and temporary tax cuts for hiring the
unemployed, both stimuli geared toward the benefit of small businesses.
Also at Obama’s direction, Congress established the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau and tightened regulations on banks and other lending
institutions, to reform the circumstances that put us into the mess we
found ourselves in by mid-2000. Despite the common misconception to the
contrary, he has in fact reduced the budget deficit by nearly $300
billion since he took office.
Including but not limited to the killing of Osama bin Laden, the
president has aggressively attacked the leadership of terrorist groups
like Al Qaeda. He said he would take us out of Iraq; he did. He said he
would set a withdrawal date for our forces from Afghanistan; he has. He
is working to help resolve the civil war in Syria. He has worked to
balance the very difficult task of being strong but diplomatic —
forceful without resorting to force — and these efforts have been
largely successful. Our reputation internationally has finally begun to
recover from the “cowboy” reputation that George W. Bush built for us
during his eight years in office.
In the areas of Supreme Court appointments and civil rights, Obama
has truly shone. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law. The
military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule has been repealed. The U.S.
Department of Justice has stopped enforcing DOMA against constitutional
challenges. Unlike Romney, Obama has had the courage to affirm his
support of same-sex marriage, an act that required extraordinary
political courage.
Obama has been a force for the furtherance of most goals and ideals
shared by college students and other members of our generation. His
advocacy for tolerance and social justice and his sympathy for the
financial struggles that plague so many Americans to different degrees,
make him not only the better man for the job but one actively deserving
of the vote you have the power to cast.
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