John Jackson
Per.1
October 24, 2012

Reality caught up with Barack Obama when he became president of the United States almost four years ago. He did not stop the rising of the oceans, broker a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians or cut the budget deficit in half. Instead, he found himself pursuing domestic and foreign policies started under the Bush administration. The Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison for suspected terrorists is still open. The Detroit bailout started during his predecessor’s term. His troop surge in Afghanistan gained nothing at the pointless cost of more American lives. The war on terror continues and has expanded with far more drone strikes. A brilliant orator on the stump four years ago, his failure as a communicator allowed the Republicans to turn his signal achievement, the Affordable Care Act, into a political defeat. Campaigning for its repeal, the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in 2010.Obama has led from behind. He let Congressional Democrats shape the health care law. He was slow to intervene in Libya and he is repeating the same cautious pattern in his reluctance to arm rebels in Syria. He squandered an opportunity when he ignored his own commission’s recommendations on controlling a national debt that now exceeds $16 trillion and ensuring the solvency of Social Security and Medicare. And his vision for the next four years seems to encompass no more than staying the course, tax increases and protection of government programs. In the last four years, gasoline prices have more than doubled. Millions have faced foreclosure. With more than 12.1 million unemployed, the economy is not creating enough jobs to keep up with population growth. By the economic numbers, Obama should be a one-term president. But, consider the alternative. Although he has tried to soften his abortion stance, Mitt Romney’s election would be a disaster for women’s reproductive rights. He wants to overturn the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision legalizing abortion. Obama is a firm supporter of a woman’s right to choose. Over time, the value of the vouchers would likely fall short of the rise in health care’s cost. Obama, instead, has shifted Medicare money from hospitals and doctors to expanded benefits for patients, such as greater prescription drug coverage. Romney’s plan to replace