(CNN) — It has been said that a democratic republic such as ours is a do-it-yourself enterprise. People change the course of this country through conversation, debate and, eventually, consensus. As the 2012 elections near, these debates, particularly the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates, take center stage.
In light of what has been a long and tumultuous political season, here are my strongest arguments for Mitt Romney, Rep. Paul Ryan, and fellow conservatives to explain to their fellow Americans why President Barack Obama does not deserve a second term.
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Obama’s handling of the economy: The U.S. is mired in the midst of the worst recovery since the Great Depression: 43 straight months of unemployment over 8%. The unemployment rate when Barack Obama took office was 7.8% and today it is 8.1%. Worse, the labor force is shrinking to record lows. People are giving up looking for work.
In August the labor force participation rate fell to 63.5%, its lowest level since September 1981. For men, the August participation rate in the labor force was 69.8%. That’s the lowest ever on record. Furthermore, half of all recent college graduates are underemployed or unemployed.
Since Obama took office, median household income has declined more than $4,000. More people are on food stamps than ever before — 46.7 million. The poverty rate is around 15%, the highest since 1993. The average retail price of gasoline has more than doubled under Obama, rising from $1.84 per gallon to more than $3.80 per gallon. In spite of this, he stopped the approval of the Keystone pipeline for further review.
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