Now that Mitt Romney has strengthened his grasp on the presidential nomination, Yahoo! News is asking Pennsylvania voters, who also head to their primary polls on April 24, whom they are backing now -- Romney or Barack Obama. Below is a perspective from a Keystone State voter.
COMMENTARY | Any effective president must retain his own principles, while also knowing how to build and then maintain a consensus within the country. And that is why President Barack Obama reminds me of President George W. Bush. Both are divisive images on our political landscape.
I'm 43, an educator, and I live in Reading, Pa. I'm hardly all-knowing, but do think that my own personal and professional background allows me to recognize effective leadership.
While no person is likely to gain massive public acceptance, I believe Mitt Romney has the capacity to be less polarizing. That factor is key to political progress within the United States and to the future that we attempt to build through our schools each day.
Branding
Romney can't fully be branded as liberal or conservative.
To win the specific office that he did in Massachusetts, to have created a common-sense health care plan, to have fostered the 2002 Olympic Games and to be near the presidential nomination are all impressive feats.
Two sides of the same flipped coin
To me, presidents Bush and Obama represent two sides of the same flipped coin. It's fair to say that Bush's final term and this first one of Obama's have been equally flat.
President Bush initially responded well to the horrid human crimes that were committed on September 11, 2001. But he should have then followed his father's past lead in Middle Eastern affairs.
The economic collapse at the end of his second term was caused by irresponsible behavior throughout the entire nation over the course of decades, not just by his own policy decisions.
President Obama promised to change direction in Iraq and is following through on those statements. He also deserves credit for making the final call to stop Osama bin Laden. However, some of his economic and social policy choices haven't been smooth.
Both presidents backed TARP. Only time will prove if those mutual financial decisions were right.
A powerful political advertisement
Regardless whether the charge is fair, the price of gas might be the most powerful political advertisement that causes the current president to only serve one term.
But, Romney's reputation for being non-controversial is the specific factor that has earned my support and might send him straight to the oval office.
Sean O'Brien has written professionally for over two decades. You can follow him on Twitter @SeanyOB.
