Opinion: The change we need

Bruce Walton

Bruce Walton

Bruce Walton is a sophomore news major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].

What is change? Change can be as abrupt as falling from the sky, or a gradual climb. When we think of change in politics, what do we truly think about? With such polarization right now, what change do you believe will come if either candidate wins the election?

President Barack Obama promised America change when he was elected, and I believe that there’s been a change. Was it an abrupt change? No; it will never do that. But if people understood the inner machinations of politics, legislation, foreign policy, economics and socioeconomics, they’d understand that change in politics and government is rarely abrupt within four years.

I believe that Obama has brought change to America to the best of his abilities. I believe that with four more years, given the opportunity, he will finish with the other amount of change that he promised. But I must ask what people who support Gov. Mitt Romney think will happen if he is in office.

This is one of the most troubling times in politics and economics, and as both Democrats and Republicans have never been so polarized, it’s difficult to get anything done. Many of Obama’s opponents blame him for the polarization of Congress and D.C. due to his bills that did not get much support from Republicans. Even though Obama did his best to get bipartisanship in Congress, they still blame him.

I didn’t come here to protect Obama; I just want people to ask themselves: If Romney is elected president, how much better of a chance does he have of getting the Democrats to be on his side? If you haven’t noticed, Romney doesn’t seem to be on the fence anymore after he had been pandering to the Republican base during the primaries. There is obviously tension between the two parties and Romney doesn’t seem like a good mediator.

We need someone who will champion for all Americans, regardless of party. We need someone who will take calculated action against threats to the country. I applaud the Obama administration for setting the record straight about the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya. The President called it a “terrorist attack” in the days after the ambassador’s death, which Romney firmly denied in the second debate.

Romney mostly talks about the economy when talking about change for America; he is, of course, a businessman. But do you want to vote for him because he knows how to run a business, or do you want to vote for someone who knows how to be a leader?

America isn’t a business; it has people with hopes and dreams, as well as an army and relationships with dozens of countries around the world. Romney is a good man, and I would trust him, but only to a degree. Just not with my country, my school or a company that I would work with someday.