Recently the Times published a letter saying we should all hope that President Obama is a one term president. I ask him in reply: So, you'd rather have a third term for President Bush? The letter doesn't provide a lot of specifics about what he doesn't like - mostly he doesn't like liberals. And he says President Obama hasn't done anything and gives the example that he "hasn't passed a budget in 3 1/2 years". He's right about that, but doesn't seem to know that only Congress can pass a budget. Presidents propose them and Congress passes them. And Mr. Obama has sent a proposed budget to Congress every year. If the letter would like to blame a do nothing Congress for not passing the budget, I'd agree. But he can't logically blame Obama for something that he can't legally do.
As for what else Mr. Obama has done, I'd remind critics of just a couple items: he saved the auto industry when Governor Romney said it should be allowed to go bankrupt. He ordered the killing of Osama Bin Laden who was hiding in Pakistan, something Mr. Romney said he wouldn't do. (Mr. Romney said this in 2008 when he was last running for President. Of course, once Obama's administration pulled it off, Mr. Romney changed his position. Gosh, how shocking!) President Obama also got the Health Care Reform Act passed. Think you don't like the law? Well do you like the insurance companies being told they can't deny you for a pre-existing condition? Must allow children to stay on their parents' plans until age 26? Can't put lifetime limits on your coverage and drop you when you get sick, while they continue to pay their CEO's multimillion dollar annual salaries?
Mr. Obama also got us out of the Iraq war President Bush started so unwisely. And the debt that Mr. House doesn't like - maybe he isn't aware that most of it results from the tax cuts Bush passed without paying for them and the two wars he started without paying for them and from the prescription benefit added to Medicare without being paid for and from the increased support to people in the recession that started in the Bush years. If you hate the debt - why is he supporting people who plan to go right back to the policies that created it? Mr. Romney wants to cut taxes on rich people MORE and increase the defense spending MORE and get MORE involved in overseas actions in places like Iran and Syria.
Finally, the letter says Obama wasn't vetted because he didn't publish his college grades but he supports Mr. Romney who won't even tell us if he paid any taxes for ten years? Or explain his money hidden in Swiss bank accounts? Really?
Joan Martin
Marietta
