On Election Night, The Famuan had two versions of the paper ready to go. This was our opinion had Mitt Romney won.
Governor Mitt Romney has now become President-Elect Romney after a particularly tense election campaign. A few questions persist as to what his presidency will mean for the country: How will his conservative views inform social issues? How will he handle current international conflicts? What will he do to improve the economy? And, how will these issues play into each other?
And to be honest, we don’t know, but not for lack of trying. The main issue that we have had with Romney during his campaign is that despite his speeches, we still don’t have a clear idea of what he is going to do.
We have heard his platforms – the almost non-stop political ads these past few weeks have made sure of that – but we don’t have an understanding of how or even if he will act on those initiatives.
Romney has had a reputation to “flip-flop” on a number of key issues, especially in contrast to his moderate governorship in Massachusetts. His actions show an uncertainty that we don’t feel comfortable with moving forward.
Even with one of the least-contested issues of the election, like greenhouse gas emissions, Romney has had a considerable difference of opinion. His policy as Massachusetts governor actually called for regulations “to reduce greenhouse gases… from older power plants,” something that he vehemently criticizes Obama for doing now.
This behavior also exhibits his tendency to placate certain audiences. His comments while campaigning in the south regarding his sudden affection for “cheesy grits” – humorous though they may be – also demonstrate an inability to relate to people in a meaningful way.
Another example? The comments concerning his “not worrying” about the “47 percent who will vote for the President (Obama) no matter what.”
We fully acknowledge that these comments were made during a private fundraising event that was leaked to the public, but they still represent another concern of ours: that Romney will run the country like a business.
Businesses have great contingency plans that result in them netting huge profits, but they can also be to the detriment of everything else.
America is not a business, and it cannot support the streamlined, survival-of-the-fittest approach that Romney seems to suggest. America is a malleable work-in-progress that needs to consider all its voices.
It’s an imperfect, messy system, but it’s also unmistakably human, and we have to make sure that as many people as possible have a chance to succeed.
As long as Romney has this sentiment in mind, we should be cautiously optimistic.