Barack Obama came into office facing daunting challenges: a struggling economy, two wars, fractured relations with some of our nation’s allies._____
We’re not completely happy with the way things have gone during Obama’s first term as president. But the country has made progress in a number of key areas, and we believe the president deserves a chance to finish what he started—while challenger Mitt Romney hasn’t made a compelling case for change.
The single most important issue facing the nation continues to be the health of the economy and, in particular, the stubbornly high unemployment rate. Things are getting better, but very slowly. Romney argues that employment should be higher than it is, and that he could accelerate the pace of improvement. But his plan to accomplish that—make sure everyone has a good education, open new markets, and so on—is not clearly articulated. This economic recovery was most likely doomed to be extremely slow no matter who was in office for the last four years, and it will probably continue to be slow no matter who’s in office for the next four.
Jackson Free Press:
Barack Obama immediately enacted a historic stimulus plan: a mix of tax cuts, aid to the states and infrastructure projects. The stimulus started to turn the tide of the economy. Obama passed landmark legislation including “Obamacare,” Wall Street reform, the Lilly Ledbetter act; overturned “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”; ended the war in Iraq; and began withdrawing from Afghanistan. Obama has also come down on the right side of women’s choice and health care, gay marriage rights and the chance for some immigrants to stay in a country they’ve always called home._____
#The president had a huge mess to clean up. But there’s much more work to be done.
La Prensa:
La Prensa concurs with The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s endorsement to re-elect President Barack Obama “on the basis of sound leadership.” Almost 4 years ago, President Obama inherited a horrendous amount of baggage from the Republican administration of George W. Bush—economic woes that rivaled the Great Depression. Utilizing sound judgment, with little or no help from Republicans, he was able to stabilize and then turn around the economy and for that reason alone he deserves to be re-elected for another four years. President Obama is also a strong supporter of Latino Civil Rights, as exemplified by his recent Executive Order of June 15, 2012, allowing the implementation of many of the aspects of the DREAM Act. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has stated for the record that he would veto the DREAM Act if passed by both branches of Congress._____
East Bay Express:
And finally, we strongly urge voters to reelect President Barack Obama. We know that Obama has been somewhat of a disappointment on progressive issues, from climate-change legislation to letting torturers off the hook. But he's also had a lot of accomplishments, including keeping us out of an economic depression, passing Obamacare, saving the auto industry, and finally getting Osama Bin Laden. Moreover, Mitt Romney, who will literally say and do anything to win the election, is unfit for office._____
Tucson Weekly:
While it's easy to express disappointment that President Barack Obama did not magically transform our country into a progressive paradise, he did bring the nation back from the brink of an economic disaster. Nearly all of the troops are home from Iraq, and the Afghanistan conflict is winding down. He crippled the leadership of al-Qaida, including the gutsy call to take out Osama bin Laden. He ended "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," so soldiers can't be drummed out of the military simply for being gay. He pushed through a health-care reform plan that will ensure that millions of Americans no longer have to go without insurance. He's taken on the tough political job of bending the cost curve of Medicare. And he could have done more if the leaders of the Republican Party had chosen to try to work with him instead of dedicating themselves to destroying him._____
Obama isn't perfect—no politician is—but he's shown a steadiness and competence that stands in sharp contrast to the proposals put forward by the GOP, which offer the same old (and discredited) ideas of cutting taxes, abandoning the poor and middle class, and boosting military spending. No thanks.
Washington City Paper:
Forget that Guantánamo is still open, or that the stimulus wasn’t big enough, or that there was no public option in the health care reform law: On issues of local interest, District voters might be able to claim that President Barack Obama has disappointed us more than anyone else. With Democrats in charge of Congress, the White House did nothing for more autonomy or federal representation for D.C. Once the GOP took over the House, Obama traded away D.C.’s public funding for abortions for low-income women (which was widely supported here) to prevent a government shutdown. But we’ve got no reason to think Republican Mitt Romney would be any better on that front; based on the GOP platform, we suspect he’d be worse. And for D.C.’s poorest residents, the cuts to Medicaid, federal food aid, school lunches, and other social programs needed to pay for Romney’s tax plans and Pentagon spending would only exacerbate the difficulties of living in an increasingly wealthier city. As residents, the Obamas at least have engaged with the city more than most of their predecessors, frequently visiting our restaurants, inviting kids from D.C. Public Schools to tend the White House garden, and opening a farmers market down the block. Even if he won’t put “Taxation Without Representation” plates on the limo, Obama is the first president since John F. Kennedy to have spent most of his life living in cities—which unlike so many national politicians, at least means he doesn’t think of urbanites as an entirely different species._____
The Economist:
FOUR years ago, The Economist endorsed Barack Obama for the White House with enthusiasm. So did millions of voters. Next week Americans will trudge to the polls far less hopefully. So (in spirit at least) will this London-based newspaper. Having endured a miserably negative campaign, the world’s most powerful country now has a much more difficult decision to make than it faced four years ago._____
That is in large part because of the woeful nature of Mr Obama’s campaign. A man who once personified hope and centrism set a new low by unleashing attacks on Mitt Romney even before the first Republican primary. Yet elections are about choosing somebody to run a country. And this choice turns on two questions: how good a president has Mr Obama been, especially on the main issues of the economy and foreign policy? And can America really trust the ever-changing Mitt Romney to do a better job? On that basis, the Democrat narrowly deserves to be re-elected.
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