Why Should the American People Trust President Obama?

In less than a week we will cast our ballots in one of the most important elections in American history. After what seems like years of attack ads and spin from both sides, how does one know what is being shared with us is the truth, a half-truth or an outright lie? Which candidate can the American people rely on? With a list of broken promises at home, lack of a clear direction moving forward and an emerging scandal abroad, it has become difficult for even the most ardent supporter to say that President Barack Obama is the candidate you should trust.

President Barack Obama has taken us through a time of mass unemployment that has yet to truly get better. When President Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. It has gotten as high as 10 percent in October of 2009. It stayed in the high end of 9 percent through 2010 and has continued to be well above the rate from when he first took office. September 2012 saw the rate drop from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent mostly due to a large group of unemployed dropping out of the ranks that sought employment and more people claiming part-time work. In 2008, the president promised that unemployment would not rise above 8 percent and by this year it would be no higher than 6 percent.

It is clear that the economy and creating jobs are the main focus of this election, and were not of the Obama administration over the last four years. President Obama was too busy forcing a mostly unwanted healthcare program upon the American people, all the while playing a big part in running up our national debt to $16 Trillion and overseeing our credit rating downgraded. President Obama told us in 2009 that if he did not turn around the economy in three years his presidency would be a “one-term proposition.” If President Obama was really a man of his word and cared about the United States and the American people, he would simply step aside and allow someone with the experience of balancing budgets and turning struggling companies around to take over. Our country is in rough shape and we could certainly benefit from someone like Mitt Romney that has the experience of turning things around.

Unlike what we were promised with Obama taking office, we have seen a decline in our standing around the world. In the third presidential debate President Obama made the following statement, “[y]ou've got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand and what you mean.” Right now, our allies have no clear idea where America stands when the president apologizes for America and bows to foreign leaders. What are our allies thinking when President Obama is caught on a live microphone telling then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that this is his last election and that he will have more flexibility after the election. So what are President Obama’s plans when it comes to Russia? How flexible is he planning on becoming? What is the president willing to sacrifice? President Obama already cancelled the missile defense system that we had agreed to provide to Poland and the Czech Republic. Whats next?

How does the president view us, the American people? Are we enemies or allies? Judging by what occurred in Benghazi, I would argue that we are certainly not allies. The Obama administration knew what was occurring in Benghazi as they monitored it in almost real time. Further reports have shown that the Obama Administration was lying to the American people when they blamed the attack on a spontaneous protest over a You Tube video. The official line by the administration was to stick to blaming the video, and they did, for more than two weeks. President Obama even blamed and denounced the video in a speech to the U.N. Official e-mails have surfaced  showing the White House knew within two hours that it was not a spontaneous attack but a terrorist attack. We have also learned that at least three requests for military back up were made with all three being denied.

At this point the president does not want to comment specifically about what he knew, and most of the mainstream media will not even ask. Those journalists that that do ask he tells them he wants to get to the bottom of it and that’s why he wants to have an investigation in to the matter. What I want to know is what are we waiting for? As the president noted, “[y]ou've got to be clear… about where you stand and what you mean.” From what has hit the news so far it seems fairly clear. Obama and his administration dropped the ball and failed to protect the U.S. Ambassador, two Navy Seals and a State Department employee. It is also quite clear that the president and his administration meant to deceive us. They are attempting to deceive us into believing that Al Qaeda is on the run and that we are safe under their administrations protection. If you believe that Al Qaeda is on the run, what do you tell the families that lost their loved ones in that terrorist attack? The terrorist attack in Benghazi should point out to everyone how unprepared we are and how lax this administration is in the protection of our people. It also points out the contradiction in Obama’s words compared to his actions.

This is not the first time that President Obama or his administration has been unclear in an event that led to the death of Americans. I would hope that no one has forgotten the senseless death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and Operation Fast and Furious. Once again the Obama administration has not cooperated in the finding of facts. President Obama asserted executive privilege to seal a number of the documents related to the scandal and the Attorney General, Eric Holder, has been held in contempt of Congress.

The two things that are linked to the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and Terry is the Obama administration's lack of proper action, and their blatant attempts to cover it up. President Obama recently referred to Mitt Romney as a bullsh***r in a Rolling Stone magazine interview. If he thinks that of Mitt Romney than what are we to think of President Obama? It is clear that he has lied and deceived us. What happened to the Hope and Change he promised?

Mitt Romney has promised that he has a plan to create 12 million jobs and, like Reagan before him, promises peace through strength. That is something we can be truly hopeful about.

President Obama was correct when he said, “[y]ou've got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand and what you mean.” It is past the time for him to live up to those words. He has failed to be clear from the beginning. It is time for us, the American people, to move in another direction with another leader.