When I look at our current President, what do I see? I see a man who was elected on a platform of hope and change, with no regard to his lack of background to accomplish the job. Despite this, the American people had faith that this revolutionary candidate would rescue the country and take us down a new path of prosperity and renewed wealth.

On the night of Nov. 4, 2008, there was a feeling that our country was going to receive some relief from the pain that average American families were feeling. But when we woke up three years later, what did we feel?

What did we feel when we were still out of work and looking for a job? What did we feel when we were told the government would force us to buy a product that we might not want to buy? Did we feel the same joy that we felt on election night? Did we still have that swell of pride and joy when we noticed that our government added $6 trillion to our nation’s debt?

On election night, we thought our kids would grow up to be better off than we were, that we chose the right candidate and that he could provide us relief. But now we are afraid — afraid that they will forever have to pay higher taxes and higher prices for everything they buy.

Were we wrong? Did we make the right choice? We may never know, but we have a new choice, and a chance to turn it all around.

We can elect a man with experience: a man who didn’t just move from one government job to the next; a man whose father was raised in Mexico and came to America to become an auto executive and, eventually, governor of the state in which he raised his family.

He looked at his father’s example and went out to start his own business, putting in long hours and all the energy he had. In the end, he achieved success; he achieved the American Dream for his family.

This is our chance to fix what happened to America three years ago. We can have true stability, prosperity and hope restored for our kids and future generations. We can once again feel joy about the future.

We will finally be able to look at our kids at night when we tuck them in and truly believe that they will grow up in a debt-free and prosperous nation. This is our crucible, our biggest test; we cannot let them down. We must and will change course with Mitt Romney.

Steven Dawson is the president of the Kent State College Republicans.

Contact Steven Dawson at [email protected].