"The question is not - are we better off than we were four years ago? The question is - where will America be four years from now?"
Voters should be asking themselves that question - originally posed by Democrat George McGovern nearly 30 years ago - as they head to the polls to elect the next president.
If they do, it will be clear Mitt Romney deserves their vote on Nov. 6.
Four years ago, Americans voted for Barack Obama's promises of hope and change.
But we didn't get the sunny day envisioned by many. Instead we have been saddled with exploding debt and a struggling economy.
Obama has added $5.4 trillion to our nation's debt, which now stands at $16 trillion. This places an immense burden on future generations. How will they be able to repay this money and still have enough money to support their families?
On the jobs' front, fewer Americans are working today than when Obama took office. Millions have given up looking for work or are underemployed in low-wage or part-time jobs because better positions aren't available.
Those who are working - and thankful to have a job - often have seen their wages stagnate, even as the cost of nearly everything from food to fuel has risen.
While gasoline prices are starting at long last to decline, it's still about double what it was when Obama took office. He claims the low price in 2009 was because the Great Recession cut growth. So how does he explain the rapid rise in prices even though the economy was struggling?
And why should we believe the current drop will be more than temporary? We've seen prices at the pump drop before only to rapidly go back up. Is there any reason for Americans to have confidence that the current administration will adopt policies that can make our nation more energy independent if given another four years?
We don't think so, especially based on the administration's efforts to stomp out the coal industry. What will happen to our electric bills over the long term if more and more coal-generating plants are closed because of new regulations imposed by the administration - rules that were not passed by the people's elected representatives in Congress?
Romney has a sensible plan to get the private sector growing by lowering tax rates, generating jobs and creating opportunities for working Americans.
More important, Romney brings the predictability on government regulation and taxes that businesses need to create jobs - and families need to begin buying again and, thus, growing the economy.
Romney will ensure programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid remain available to the many Americans who rely on them. Real health care reform, not a government takeover that will cost many families more for medical care, will occur under Romney.
Our foreign enemies will face a strong, determined United States - not a nation second-guessing ourselves and our heritage, as has been the case the last four years. The world has become more dangerous thanks to an Obama foreign policy that refuses to recognize the resurgent threat of Islamic terrorism, snubs the leader of Israel and has done little or nothing to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons.
Where will America be - economically, militarily and in world standing - after another four years of the Obama administration? Is that where you want our nation to be? We don't.
Obama was right about one thing in 2008: The United States needs hope and change.
We need hope for a brighter tomorrow, and we need a change of direction in Washington. Mitt Romney is the leader our nation needs, and we encourage our readers to vote for him on Nov. 6.
