Obama and Romney as Politicians - Essay Example

This brief essay will consider Romney.  Romney claims to have a very different view from the President with regard to the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009.  However, the fact of the matter is that while governor of Massachusetts, Romney instituted a healthcare plan statewide that served as the very inspiration for the later adoption of the Affordable Health Care Act.  As such, Romney continues to attempt to distance himself from this and claim that if he is elected president he will do all in his power to overturn the legislation.   Such a disconnect between action/practice and actuality does not help Romney to appear as a steadfast candidate with regard to this particular issue.

Similarly, much the same is true with regard to Romney’s stance on abortion.  While campaigning for the gubernatorial race of Massachusetts, Romney went out of his way to emphasize that he was a pro-choice candidate.  Similarly, most of the issues that involved abortion were masterfully dodged without coming down too hard in either direction.  Yet, as he is running for a nationwide audience now and not merely for the gubernatorial candidacy of a small moderately liberal northeastern state, Romney has tracked to the right significantly and now claims that he will make it a policy directive to use his power to enforce the “sanctity of life”.  Such a disconnect from his prior positions begs the question of to what degree Romney is merely playing to the base of the Republican/conservative movement and to what degree he espouses such a newfound belief in the sanctity of life. 

The case with Obama is somewhat different.  Because Obama is a sitting president, it is much easier to measure his actions against the words that he spoke back in the 2008 presidential election cycle.  Although like any politician, Obama has embellished a bit and claimed to be able to perform feats that no president is reasonably expected to perform, the fact of the matter is that in regard to the main issues, Obama has remained decidedly issue-oriented and issue-focused.  Concerning his campaign promise to engage with Congress to create a lasting and historic solution to the issues that face many Americans in regard to healthcare, Obama, with the help of a Democratic-controlled Congress, enacted the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009.

Additionally, Obama has also made good on his campaign promise to cease military operations within Iraq and bring the majority of combat troops stationed there back home.  This campaign promise and its ultimate implementation was an important step because it allowed him to take an increased role in tracking al Qaeda and in helping the United States to locate and kill Osama bin Laden; the mastermind of the September 11th attacks that killed over 3,000 United States citizens.  It should be noted though that this author does have a strong issue with the President’s foreign policy.  Whereas he campaigned on a platform of military non-aggression and sought to bring the majority of US combat troops home as a function of ending the pointless Iraq war, he entirely failed to keep the United States out of yet another pointless Middle Eastern war that transpired during the summer and fall of 2011 in Libya.  Such a brazen disregard for the will of the American people with regards to staying out of the affairs of Middle Eastern nations is highly not appreciated and is one of the reasons that this author still has a bit of reservation about the current President concerning foreign policy.

All in all, Obama is a more sound political choice than Mr. Romney.  Because Obama has a proven track record that verifiably tracks with his promises and Mr. Romney displays a track record that is all over the board, the voter cannot know what position the Republican candidate may choose to take once in office.  This fact as well as the fact that I firmly support the vast majority of the current President’s decisions of the past 4 years is one of the single largest determinants as to why I will be voting for the President in the upcoming elections.