What's it going to look like November 7th?

November 6, 2012, will be an historic election in the U.S. from at least one perspective--for the first time in American history, both candidates for President will be from "minorities" within American society--Obama (race--African-American) and Romney (creed--Mormon). Not that such things (creed, race, etc.) matter--here's the question voters in the U.S. should ask themselves: "What's it going to look like on November 7th?"  Because the morning after the November 6th Presidential election, there will only be one of two possible scenarios:

1) Barack Obama wins re-election and we look forward to four more years of what we've already experienced in his first term (everyone has his/her own experience and judgment of  this--good, bad, or indifferent);

2) Mitt Romney is elected President and we look forward to four years under a new administration in Washington, D.C.

Under the first scenario, Mitt Romney and his family will go back to doing what they were doing before  he decided to run for President. He and Mrs. Romney have plenty to keep them busy (16 grandkids, etc.) and the well-earned means to live a very comfortable life.

Under the second scenario, Barack Obama and his family would start to transition to a "post-Presidential" life--the U.S. government has made former Presidents almost "royalty" with full-time security  and other lavish benefits provided courtesy of the American taxpayer for as long as they live. The options that would be open to "former President" Obama would be numerous--whether as president of a prestigious university, author, speaker, foundation founder, etc.,--and obviously it would be a decision (in consultation with Mrs. Obama of course) for him to make at the appropriate time. It's no secret that Mrs. Obama was never crazy about Barack Obama's political ambitions nor "life in Washington."

In any event, whatever the outcome of November 6th, the Obamas and the Romneys will be just fine, thank you. The real issue is: what about the USA and the rest of the world (as "leader of the free world"--the U.S. Presidential election has global consequences)?

Under the first scenario, you can project the next four years based on President Obama's first term.  If you really liked that--he's your man!

Under the second scenario, things would be different--or at least some things would be different.

Here's what I think is going to happen.  Mitt Romney is going to be elected the next President of the United States. In many ways President Obama has done his best in a very difficult situation--the economy, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. But Obama is facing "headwinds" in the coming months--more Eurozone troubles that will affect and infect the global economy--including the U.S. economy, Iran/Israel and the rest of the mess in the Mideast, a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, and his own increasing "mistakes" that indicate a failure to understand the fundamental problems that need to be addressed and either an inability or unwillingness to exercise leadership. In some ways it is not really Obama's fault. His background is "community organizer" and "consensus builder"--good qualities in the right situation.

Mitt Romney is made of different "stuff." Forget the "mainstream media narrative" about Mitt Romney you've heard over and over again. Drill deeper and you'll find a different guy than what has been revealed in the media thus far. He's cut from different cloth than Obama OR your typical Republican politician. That's one reason he's found it difficult to be "accepted" in certain quarters of the Republican party (which is actually a positive in my view).

Here's the key to understanding Romney:  Mrs. Romney reportedly asked him, when they were discussing his possible run for the Presidency, "Can you fix it?"--meaning the economy.

Whether you look at his career at Bain, his tenure as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics or his term as governor of Massachusetts, this guy is a fixer, a doer, a leader--here's one short bio--

Mitt Romney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: " . . . . served as a Mormon missionary in France. He married Ann Davies in 1969 and they have five children. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, and then earned a joint JD and MBA from Harvard University. Romney entered the management consulting business, which led to a position at Bain & Company. Eventually serving as CEO, Romney brought the company out of crisis. He was co-founder and head of the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the nation. His wealth helped fund most of his future political campaigns. Active in his church, he served as ward bishop and later stake president in his area. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to long-time incumbent Ted Kennedy. Romney organized and steered the 2002 Winter Olympics as head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and helped turn the troubled games into a financial success. Romney was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 but did not seek re-election in 2006. He presided over a series of spending cuts and increases in fees that eliminated an up to $1.5 billion deficit. He also signed into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, which provided near-universal health insurance access via subsidies and state-level mandates and was the first of its kind in the nation. . . . " (emphasis added)

This guy Romney fixes broken situations, is a good steward with investors' money (think "taxpayer" instead of "investor" and you'll get my drift) and is not afraid to lead and get political consensus to get things done--even trying novel things to solve real-life problems like health care. Actually "Romney care" is a real positive on this guy's resume, and if you don't believe me, read this. Probably his best quality is he's smart--and I mean really "smart."  So smart that even the very liberal, Nobel Laureate economist, Paul Krugman, who is a big supporter of Barack Obama and rants against Romney on a regular basis in the New York Times, concedes "Mr. Romney is not a stupid man."

In the end, I believe the American people will elect the best person to lead the country in its present situation. My judgment is that person will be Mitt Romney. Tomorrow I will show the Electoral College path to a Romney victory.

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