The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign and Decision

How can voters decide between the two candidates, one of whom will be not only president, but also leader of the free world?

The 2012 presidential election campaign is almost over except for the debates, which are really beauty contests.  Unfortunately, obtaining accurate information on the major issues during the campaign has turned into a nightmare of too many lies.

Hopefully, the pre-election list below, organized around domestic policy issues and foreign policy issues, will help by providing a series of choices that the American people need to make regarding significant issues.  When voters decide between the list options and tally them, they will arrive at the presidential candidate who best represents their values and issue positions and whom they should vote for on Tuesday, November 6.

Domestic Policy Issues

• Free enterprise, self-reliance vs. Governmental "free lunch," living "on the dole," and welfare

• Reducing deficit/debt by unleashing the private sector vs. Costly stimulus packages

• Eastern European countries' economic successes vs. Greek failed economic model

• Oil/gas exploration for energy independence vs. Solyndra-like failures, oil production decreases, and crushing EPA regulations

• Tax cuts reducing unemployment rates; spending cuts to drive GDP growth vs. Rising unemployment rates, shrinking labor force with worst job record, and waning economic growth

• Free-market health care reducing premiums, maintaining quality vs. ObamaCare's rising costs and abysmal quality (Britain's National Health Service)

• Sensible/practical banking regulations vs. Dodd-Frank overbearing regulations and race-based policies

• Extending Bush tax cuts vs. Eliminating them

• Sensible/practical immigration reform vs. Total amnesty; sanctuary cities

• Racial "blindness"; equality under the law vs. Racial politics; class warfare

• Equality of opportunity vs. Equality of outcome

• Limited government; free-market capitalism vs. Total government control

• Sensible/practical Medicare/Medicaid reform vs. Costly ObamaCare Medicare/Medicaid expansion

• Sensible/practical Social Security reform vs. Delaying Social Security fix for future generations

• Appointing special prosecutor for Fast and Furious vs. Justice Department delay tactics

• Upholding Constitution's Second Amendment vs. Unreasonable gun control laws

• Simplifying tax code vs. Increasing tax regulations

• Reducing personal income taxes vs. Increasing these taxes for "the rich"

• Reducing corporate taxes without corporate burdens vs. Imposing onerous business policies

• Reducing dividend/capital gain taxes vs. Increasing these taxes

• Letting free market work vs. Costly industry bailouts

• Eliminating Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac vs. Bailing out Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac

• Eliminating "czars" vs. Expanding "czars"

• Upholding Constitution's First Amendment vs. Forcing organizations, including religious ones, to compromise their values

• Condemning partial-birth abortions vs. Defending all abortions

• Respecting our Judeo-Christian heritage vs. Multiculturalism, moral equivalency, and political correctness

• Fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets vs. Occupy Wall Street hatred of capitalism

• Sensible/practical EPA regulations vs. Global warming hysteria

• Reducing unsustainable entitlement spending vs. Governmental dependence

• School choice and teacher accountability vs. Bloated government education system

• Establishing educational standards with accurate testing vs. No standards and terrible U.S. performance

• Condemning anti-Semitism vs. Ignoring it; issuing platitudes

• Honoring and rewarding individual achievement vs. "all must have prizes" philosophy

Foreign Policy Issues

• Reagan's world leadership vs. Carter's lack of leadership

• Churchill-like moral courage vs. Chamberlain-like appeasement and bowing to tyrants

• Waging dynamic war on terror vs. "Leading from behind," failed Muslim outreach, and suicidal consequences of weak global leadership

• "Trust, but verify" regarding Russia vs. "Trust, don't verify" and failed Russian "reset button"

• Unwavering support of Israel vs. Duplicitous support of Israel, especially regarding Iran, and perilous moral equivalency

• A robust missile defense vs. Recklessly reducing missiles under unilateral disarmament plan

• Acting unilaterally in defense of U.S. vs. Contacting United Nations and NATO

• Condemning Islamists and sharia law vs. Pretending Islamists don't exist, insisting that Muslims are blameless, misunderstanding Islamic jihad ideology, negotiating with Islamists, letting them infiltrate government, and allowing sharia into the U.S.

• Sensible/practical defense budget vs. Reducing defense budget recklessly, thus producing U.S. military that's undermanned, ill-equipped, and stretched to the limit

• Advancing Israeli position and U.S. military option regarding Iran's nuclear weapons capability  vs. Always relying on diplomacy/sanctions and ignoring military option

• U.S. Constitution over international law vs. International law taking precedence

• American exceptionalism based on achievement vs. "All are equal" philosophy

• American sovereignty vs. Globalization

• World trade agreements with reasonable terms vs. Crippling "free trade" agreements; onerous Chinese trade practices

• Smart monitoring and intelligent policy initiatives concerning Iraq vs. Ignoring Iraq as a failure

• Forgetting Afghan government's sustainability; targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban vs. Training treacherous Afghan police and soldiers while submitting to Islamic sharia

• Eliminating foreign aid to countries wanting to destroy us vs. Unquestioned aid to these countries

• Eliminating secret information leaks vs. Media leaks and "spiking the ball" about them

• Harsher financial sanctions against North Korea vs. Depending solely on diplomatic engagement

That's the list.  Of course, it's not definitive.  However, it's a good snapshot of what the major issue differences are in this important election.

The list stacks the deck against President Obama, but he stacked the deck against himself by his domestic and international actions and policies during his presidency.

An excellent examination of Obama's economic disasters is in "Obama's Got to Go" in the August 19 Newsweek by eminent historian Niall Ferguson. His conclusion:

The voters now face a stark choice. They can let Barack Obama's rambling, solipsistic narrative continue until they find themselves living in some American version of Europe, with low growth, high unemployment, even higher debt-and real geopolitical decline. Or they can opt for real change: the kind of change that will end four years of economic underperformance, stop the terrifying accumulation of debt, and reestablish a secure fiscal foundation for American national security.

British author and journalist Melanie Phillips in her September 13 blog post called "The Guilty Men Behind the Arab Winter" said this about the importance of America's presidential election for the security of the West:

While America reels under assault from the very forces unleashed by its own President, the fanatics running the Iranian regime are holding their breath that Obama will be re-elected so that they can progress unhindered to the creation of their genocide bomb. Never have the American people been faced with such a momentous choice for the future of the world than the one they will make on November 6.

Regardless of the issues, there is the future of America, as famed economist Thomas Sowell says in his article "'Issues' or America?," posted at Townhall on August 21:

There are some very serious issues at stake in this year's election -- so many that some people may not be able to see the forest for the trees. Individual issues are the trees, but the forest is the future of America as we have known it. The America that has flourished for more than two centuries is being quietly but steadily dismantled by the Obama administration during the process of dealing with particular issues.

Based on Obama's crippling domestic and international policies for America and his dreadful performance as president and leader of the free world, the option for voters is obvious -- list or not, Niall Ferguson's assessment or not, and the warnings of Melanie Phillips and Thomas Sowell or not.  Hopefully, the electorate will make that obvious choice.