It's a simple question to ask are you better off today and four years ago? President Obama has been in power long enough and under such circumstances that he, and his administration. along with the Democrats, that he and they should have and could have made the moves and changes that should have turned things around. Regardless of what he inherited, which contrary to what is stated now, was well aware to anyone who did the research to investigate. There is no way anything that George Bush and the Republicans did was beyond being known with a media that was more than at his heels every day and looking to tear him down.
The first two years not only did President Obama have a "honeymoon" period in office but he had a media that was going along with everything he did or said. He had a media that did little to no research on him and his background and he had a Legislative branch, both of which (House and Senate) had majorities that allowed them to pass ANY legislation they desired to. For two years the Democrats controlled all areas of Government necessary to allow them to enact and pass any law or legislation to effect the country and direction of the nation. The Republicans had NO power or opportunity to stop them. So the question is WHAT did they do? Why did they not correct the problems? President Obama has had four years now and when we look at the things that we should look at in order to ask the question should a person have four more years or be re-elected then here are a few of the questions and facts that should be considered.
1) The national debt is far in excess of what it was when Bush handed it over to Obama. In fact there has been more spending and debt incurred under Obama than ANY other President in history and more than the combination of presidents in the past.
2) Gas/Fuel prices have risen to levels far above what we saw and paid under George Bush and the Republicans. Not since the Carter administration have we been in such dire conditions where foreign oil interest and foreign powers influence the prices we pay. The President and Democrats suggest they have no power or control of fuel prices yet when the Republicans and George Bush was in power and prices rose during those years they campaigned that George Bush was responsible and did have control. How is it that now they don't? How can you say decisions such as prohibiting and restricting drilling on our own public lands such as Anwar and in the Gulf of Mexico do not restrict our nations supply and access to oil that is totally under our own control? In large measure in response to the gulf oil spill the President and the Democrats put a moratorium on all additional drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and eliminated that area as a source of oil. How can decisions like that not have an end effect upon exactly who controls the price we pay?
3) Unemployment, even with measuring it under a new method of calculation, that no longer recognizes the people who have ceased searching for jobs, has stayed at historically bad levels and above 8%. Unemployment has remained higher than under the Republican administration and George Bush's administration.
4) Housing has not improved and in many cases has worsened under Barak Obama to the point that most people are underwater on their mortgages and have no way out. People owe more than their houses are worth and home sale values are still int he tank and the worst that they have been during our recent history.
5) The US has seen one downgrade and very possibly will see another downgrade in our credit rating. The US has historically the highest debt owed to former enemies than at any time in the past and we are Industrially weaker than at any time in our post World War II history. Never before has so little Industry within our own borders existed. Although this did not happen solely under Barak Obama his Administration and the Democrats, when they had total control of the nation, did nothing to turn this around or improve it in any way. Remember it was under the Clinton Administration that NAFTA was enacted all be it with approval of the Republicans as well. It seems the great nonpartisan action that the two parties have been able to cooperate on was providing avenues which could remove jobs from America and send them to other Nations.
6) More and more former confidants of the Obama Administration are coming forward to explain and reveal what an amateur President Obama is when it comes to not only being President but when dealing with other world leaders, leaders who seek to see America's influence and power in the world disappear or diminish.
With the above and many other facts and information how can anyone present an argument that explains and justifies why Obama should be re-elected? Why is asking are you (our Nation) better off today than four years ago not be a valid question? It should be more than revealing that the Democrats main argument of why Obama should be re-elected rest on fears of what another person (Romney) MIGHT do or having to go back to a prior administration that the present Administration could not correct or reverse, in oder. They have to rely upon these arguments rather than spotlight the accolades of what the Administration has done to remedy the situation we are in. Simply the reason that the Democratic party cannot trot out the Achievements of the Administration and their Congress is that there are not any achievements that are making a positive difference. The only achievements are those which are making the situation worse and no one can campaign on things that make people's lives worse so they have to misdirect the attention to other things.
Why not give the Republican party a chance to see what they can do? The people of Wisconsin and New Jersey decided to change from Democratic leadership to Republican and give them a chance and the result has been, at least since they took over, positive and turning their Economies and Business situations, including jobs and other economic factors, such as their overall debt, around. ANY Independent voter should be within their rights to ask such questions and expect rational answers to those questions and facts.
