When I graduated high school in 2004, George W. Bush was beginning his second term as president and conservative Republican fervor was at an all time high. I didn't really care though. I was too busy pretending to be an adult with my part-time job and studio apartment.
The consequences of such failed Bush administration policies as the Patriot Act and No Child Left Behind weren't clear at first. But as soon as I started talking to coworkers, some of whom were veterans, I knew that Bush was more than an over-hyped bumpkin. As I continued to learn what was going on, especially with the war in Iraq, all the corruption and malfeasance was too obvious to ignore.
I won't go into a tirade about why the Bush administration is partly to blame for our present national struggles. However, I will say that witnessing eight years of conservative Republican policy in action, I can't fathom living under that system again.
President Barack Obama is not a great president. His signing of the National Defense Authorization Act and endorsement of drone warfare is shameful. But I can't say those two glaring mistakes are reason enough to vote for Gov. Mitt Romney and the conservative Republican baggage that would come with his presidency.
You don't hear too much about what Obama has done for the good of our country. I would imagine it's because everything he does has to be spun one way or the other before it even reaches the public. He has made great strides, however, in healthcare, veteran's affairs, rights for women and homosexuals and lowering the cost of student loans.
Of course, he has had to fight tooth and nail to make these changes. But I'm hopeful that what he's done so far is only a hint at what he can accomplish during his second term.
To me, the Republican alternative would do the opposite.
We already saw how they handled the economy during the Bush years, so we know no progress can be expected. The tendency for Republican policy makers to ally themselves with religious groups means that rights for women and homosexuals would suffer. Healthcare would start to return to an over-priced privilege instead of the inherent right it should be.
There are many other examples of national problems, such as unemployment, that would only worsen if Romney were elected, but I think you get the idea.
Yet, I already know what a Romney administration will do, and I certainly couldn't handle it if I knew I voted for a reincarnation of Bush. The uncertainty of a second term for Obama does not scare me as much as the certainty for disaster that Romney represents.
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