This is it, Mr. President. If you do not put Mr. Romney away in this round, Democrats will not have the fire to get out and vote, and the Republicans will be on fire and voting in a replay of 2010.
Conversely, if you challenge Mr. Romney everytime he tries to shade the truth, fudge the numbers, or evade specificity, you can pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
Challenge him on the deficit. The largest part of the deficit is extension of the Bush tax cuts, which were supposed to expire at the end of 2010. Remind people that the only reason the cuts got passed at the beginning was through the budget reconciliation process, and that, in turn was based on the fact that it was acknowledged that those cuts would result in a deficit. That deficit is here and is choking our economic vitality every day.
Challenge Mr. Romney on the economy. Remind Americans that when you assumed office, our economy was shedding jobs at the rate of 750 THOUSAND a month. You have turned that trend around, and, despite all of the partisan obstructionism from the Republicans, our economy has added over 5 million private sector jobs. Remind the public that Senator Mitch McConnell vowed to make you a one term President. Take off the gloves, Mr. President and call him out by name, since the video is available for anyone with eyes and ears.
Challenge Mr. Romney on the abortion issue. Be a staunch advocate for a woman’s right to choose her own reproductive destiny. Let those who oppose abortion choose not to have one; they have no right whatsoever to impose their morality on the rest of us who may or may not share their religious values. Remind him that our First Amendment gives us not only freedom of religion but freedom from the pernicious use of religious dogma to rule our private lives.
Don’t be afraid to challenge Mr. Romney on foreign policy. It was the Republican-controlled House of Representatives that refused to appropriate over $300 million to beef up security at our embassies worldwide. Remind people that whatever the President says to the press is virtually instantly blasted and magnified out in the public sphere and that it is imperative to have all of the facts before making any such statements. Mr. Romney should be aware of this, given his crass statements issued well before all the facts were verified in an area where information is almost impossible to obtain instantaneously. In like manner, you can challenge him regarding the middle east and how he would address the issues of Iran and Syria.
Challenge him to SPECIFICALLY state what he would do differently. And, if he doesn’t, don’t allow him to spout platitudes and boilerplate in lieu of genuine policies, AND how he would go about implementating them (i.e. how he would enlist support among our allies) with a broad coalition of other nations.
Indeed, Mr. President, don’t allow Mr. Romney to do any evasion. Call him out whenever he tries (and you can be sure he will), just like Joe Biden did when he schooled Mr. Ryan last Thursday.
Do these things, Mr. President. Be fearless and staunch in standing up for principles that have served Democrats well ever since the party was formed. Smile often and sincerely. Speak simply and sincerely and to the people, via the camera. Do these things and you will have been elected President to a second term by the morning of November 7, 2012.
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