Mitt Romney is making his closing argument to America on why he feels he is the best choice for President in 2012, via CNN:
For more than a year now,
I've carried that message across America. As we draw close to Election
Day, it is a good moment to reflect on what it means to believe in
America.
America is a place where
freedom rings. It is a place where we can discuss our differences
without fear of any consequence worse than criticism, where we can
believe in whatever creed or religion we choose, where we can pursue our
dreams no matter how small or grand. It is a place that not only
cherishes freedom, but is willing to fight to defend it. These are the
qualities that define us.
America is a land of
opportunity. But lately, for too many Americans, opportunity has not
exactly come knocking. We've been mired in an economic slowdown that has
left millions of our fellow citizens unemployed. The consequences in
dreams shattered, lives disrupted, plans deferred, and hopes dimmed can
be found all around us.
It hasn't always been
this way. It certainly doesn't have to be this way in the future. We're
all in this together. And together we can emerge from these troubles.
Together with Paul Ryan,
I've put forward an economic recovery plan consisting of five central
elements that will in four years create 12 million jobs.
We will produce more of
the energy we need to heat our homes, fill our cars, and make our
economy grow. We will stop President Obama's war on coal, his disdain
for oil, and his effort to crimp natural gas by federal regulation of
the very technology that produces it. We will support nuclear and
renewables, but phase out subsidies once an industry is on its feet. We
will invest in energy science and research to make discoveries that can
actually change our energy world. By 2020, we will achieve North
American energy independence.
We will retrain our work
force for the jobs of tomorrow and ensure that every child receives a
quality education no matter where they live, including especially our
inner cities. Parents and students, not administrators and unions, need
to have greater choice. Our current worker retraining system is a
labyrinth of federal programs that sprawls across 47 programs and nine
agencies. We will eliminate this redundancy and empower the 50 states
and the private sector to develop effective programs of their own.
We will make trade
work for America. We'll open more markets to American agriculture,
products, and services. And we will finally hold accountable any nation
that doesn't play by the rules. I will stand up for the rights and
interests of American workers and employers.
We will restore fiscal
sanity to Washington by bringing an end to the federal spending and
borrowing binge that in just four years has added more debt held by the
public than almost all previous administrations combined. We will put
America on track to a balanced budget by eliminating unnecessary
programs, by sending programs back to states where they can be managed
with less abuse and less cost, and by shrinking the bureaucracy of
Washington.
Finally, we will
champion small business, the great engine of job creation in our
country, by reforming the tax code and updating and reshaping
regulations that have suffocated economic growth.
Nothing is ever easy in
Washington, but these goals are rooted in bipartisan agreement, and I
will work with members of both parties to accomplish them. As governor
of a state that was overwhelmingly Democratic, I was always ready to
reach across the aisle and I can proudly point to the results. I've
learned that when we come together to solve problems in a practical
spirit, we can accomplish miracles.
In this respect, I am
offering a contrast to what we are seeing in Washington today. We've
watched as one party has pushed through its agenda without compromising
with the other party. We've watched gridlock and petty conflict dominate
while the most important issues confronting the nation, like chronic
high unemployment, go unaddressed. The bickering has to end. I will end
it. I will reach across the aisle to solve America's problems.
Our economic crisis not
only threatens the well-being of our citizenry, it has larger
consequences in other realms. The economic weakness of the past several
years has, alarmingly, fostered weakness in our foreign policy posture.
Runaway domestic spending has led the president to propose reducing
defense spending by hundreds of billions, cuts that his own secretary of
defense has said would "devastate" our national security.
The most important task
for any president is set out in the preamble to our
Constitution—providing for the common defense. As commander-in-chief, I
will roll back the president's deep and arbitrary cuts to our
military. Our soldiers should never lack the tools they need to complete
their mission and come home safely. I have always believed that the
first purpose of a strong military is to prevent war. And preventing war
is a supreme national interest. I will ensure that our military is
strong enough that no adversary dares to challenge us.
Let us remember our
history. We have accomplished so much, both in the world and at home.
We've defeated tyrannies. We've lifted hundreds of millions out of
poverty. We've transformed our own society into a more perfect union.
We've created a land of freedom and prosperity. The problems we need to
overcome now are not bigger than we are. We can defeat them. I am
offering real change and a real choice.
