Obama v. Romney

Here is my attempt to compare the policies and records of President Obama and former Governor Romney.

Part 1, their record.
Obama, his successes and failures in comparison to his claims

• Fulfilled the following promises, and successes:
• The United States left Iraq
• The United States has an exit plan for Afghanistan's war.
• We have not invaded Iran.
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell
• Rescued the American car industry, instead of paying unemployment insurance to Detroit.
• Rescued the American banking industry, instead of paying several trillion dollars in FDIC insurance to the four major banks.
• Osama bin Laden was killed under his administration.
• Unemployment has decreased since the Stimulus package kicked in.  It is functioning like a normal economy, despite being higher than is preferable. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
• Reformed health care, so that college students can stay on their parent's health care insurance and people cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. For me, a college student with cerebral palsy these are two main reasons to vote for Obama, and why my Dad can enter the private sector to get paid more money.
• Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act.
• Missed the following promises, and failures:
• Closing Guantanamo Bay
• Signing the NDAA of 2010, instead of vetoing it and sending it back to Congress, remember the cost of which would have been deadlock and probably more pork.
• Has advocated for the Buffett Tax, which Congress has blocked.
• Dissapointed a lot of Democrats and should have overjoyed a lot of Republicans on the following:
• Signing Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea (a note I wish to make is these are bilateral and our exports to these countries, yes, the United States has exports, now have no tariff from these countries)
• We are giving more money to Israel than under any previous administration.  http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf

I have heard a lot of Republicans claim that Obama has been blaming the Republicans for blocking him and that he should own up to his own mistakes... but they are making fun of the intelligence of every single American because they are leaving out that in the United States of America there is a Separation of Powers and the President is not our monarch and cannot do anything large without Congressional support. The only exception is declaring war because in 2002 Congress (which was controlled by Republicans) retroactively gave the President the power to declare war without Congressional approval which was practically retroactively giving support to every military action the President declares. This is basically calling Americans stupid. Why do we put up with this?

Mitt Romney's plan is more or less the following: (From his website)

• Decrease tax rates for the wealthy.
• Reduce government spending on Social Security and privatize Social Security.
• Outlaw abortion
• Outlaw same-sex marriage
• Invade Iran
• Increase aid to Israel beyond Obama levels.
• Decrease regulations on guns
• Make it so people like me, college students and people with pre-existing conditions, will lose our health insurance.
• Opposes unions
• Increase oil drilling, increasing Exxon Mobil's profits.
• Smaller government.

Who will benefit from Obama's plan (if implemented fully)? The middle class will directly benefit through lower taxes and lower costs to health care and education, along the lower economic class. Equal rights for gays and lesbians and legal recourse if employers are ripping off female employees.

Who will benefit from Romney's plan (again, if implemented fully)? Loan sharks through fewer regulations, oil companies through less stringent regulation and drilling in America's most pristine places, and owners of factories that employee unioned workers. The middle class will not benefit, and the poor will slide backward faster than ever before through increased costs to education and health care. Who will benefit from invading Iran? Oil companies because Iran has 5.1% of the world's oil production. Romney does not serve regular Americans, he serves the oil companies.