President Romney Delivers

Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine Mitt Romney was elected president in 2012. What would he be saying today, halfway through his first term?

Well, he'd be taking credit for an economy finally unleashed, just as he said it would be if we elected him. Thank heavens we did. (Contemplate his triumphant State of the Union Address, coming up shortly.) Five percent GDP growth in the third quarter, he'd remind us. See what happens when we get government out of the way and let businesses thrive? What happens when businesses understand there's a leader in charge who knows what they need?

And two dollar gas. They said it couldn't be done, but President Romney showed what is possible when government gets out of the way and lets energy companies explore and develop unencumbered. Oil prices down by 50% in two years. A glut of natural gas. Ebullient consumers with fistfuls of extra cash.

There's more: an unemployment rate of 5.6% and dropping like a stone. Who'd have thought it possible? Two years ago it was almost 8 percent. The U.S. private sector added 2.95 million jobs in 2014, the fastest annual pace since the 1990s. We've seen twelve straight months of job creation in excess of 200,000; that hasn't happened since 1994. Some economists say that if the current pace continues, the U.S. could reach "full employment" in about a year. See what happens when you elect somebody who "understands how the economy works?"

On the stump, Mitt Romney promised this is what he'd do, and by golly he delivered.

Losers around the world should be so lucky to have such a leader. Europe remains mired in depression and has been sliding into deflation. China's economy is floundering and may experience a "hard landing." Japan has been trying to break out of its own decade-long deflationary trap. But the U.S.? Under President Romney, the U.S. is the shining beacon of economic vitality.

All told, it's been a vindication of the voters' good sense in electing a president who knows how to manage, knows how to run a business, knows how to grow an economy.

Thank you, Mitt Romney. And Happy New Year.

Copyright (C) 2015 James Michael Brennan, All Rights Reserved

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