Some final words from Mitt Romney before you vote… (Sorry if it is a bit lengthy for the FR Blog page). 
Meeting A New Generation Of Challenges
By Governor Mitt Romney
We have grown up in an America that is safe, prosperous and stable. For many Americans, that is all they have known. And it is all they can imagine.
Perhaps that is why so many of us fail to see the consequence of continuing along our present course. The greatest generation – our parents and grandparents – had witnessed the turmoil of depression and the tragedy of war. They acted to preserve our liberty. They sacrificed to build the world’s strongest economy. And they gave us the education, values, and work ethic that permitted us to succeed in it.
Today, we face a new generation of challenges. Ignored, the challenges will overwhelm us; confronted, they will make us an even stronger nation.
The challenges come from different directions. Our national security is threatened by radical Jihadists who seek to destroy America and to conquer the world. Our economy faces new competition from Asia, particularly China. Their goal is to replace America as the economic superpower, taking away our best jobs and income. All the while, oil-producing nations like Russia, Venezuela and Iran siphon away our national wealth, weakening our competitiveness.
Here at home, Washington politicians "fight over the deck chairs on the Titanic," even as the nation heads through icebergs. Rather than confront the challenges and call on America’s spirit of unity, the politicians bribe us with pork barrel spending and lavish favors on special interests.
Washington is broken. And given the challenges we face, we must act to fix it.
The Democratic contenders for the Presidency say they will change Washington – and America. I believe they would. They would take us along the path that Europe took – big government, big brother, big taxes. Theirs is a siren song: let government take care of you – trade in our land of opportunity for a land of dependence. But that path would fail America just as it has failed Europe.
We must take instead the path that has propelled America to become the most powerful nation on Earth. Rather than strengthen government, we must strengthen the American people.
We must start by strengthening our economy. Today, our economy is tipping, slowing. Moms and dads across America watch a neighbor lose a home and worry about their family’s future. Wild swings in the stock market lead to nagging doubts and a loss of the confidence necessary to propel growth and entrepreneurship. A weakening economy means fewer jobs, lower incomes, and less opportunity. And America’s challengers are propelled ahead.
The American people know that Washington must act immediately to keep us from sliding into recession. Instead, we see worrying signs of the same old bickering as the Senate fiddles while the American economy burns. We need Congress to act now to help get the economy moving again. But just as important, we must act to reinforce the foundation of our competitiveness. Pro-growth tax policy, leveling the playing field for trade, liability reform, technology investment, energy security, deregulation, sound environmental policy, education excellence and many more actions will impact our ability to compete, to have good jobs and to see rising incomes. As President, I will reduce taxes permanently, open and expand markets for American goods and services, and promote an economic culture of innovation and transformation that will strengthen our economy.
I have spent 25 years in the real economy. I have done business in over 20 countries. I know why jobs are lost and how they are won. I have been fortunate to gain the kind of experience that is needed to strengthen our economy. It simply cannot be done by Washington politicians who have never had a job in the real economy.
Strengthening the American people also requires the elimination of the threat of terrorism – radical violent Jihad. Our military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are working. But we and all civilized nations must construct a more comprehensive strategy to eliminate violent Jihad throughout the world. This will require a further investment in our military might. And it will include efforts to help moderate Muslims reject the violent extreme. Success in this seminal struggle of our time will require rigorous thought, analysis, diplomacy, and sound intelligence, wisdom and temperament. This effort demands vigorous leadership that unites and strengthens our country. In short, it cannot be accomplished with business as usual in Washington. Rather, it demands new energy, new ideas, and new leaders shaped in the crucible of the real world, not the Washington world. In the Washington world, the media is the most important constituent and success is passing a bad bill, as long as it has your name on it. In the real world, keeping our military strong, our families safe, and our economy growing is the real measure of success. In today’s broken Washington, it is too often merely an afterthought.
The American people have never shied away from the big challenges the world has often thrown our way. This moment and these great challenges demand new leadership and new ideas. Together, we will face and meet the threats to our economy and way of life that confront us today. My promise to the American people is that we will overcome these challenges, fix our economy, protect our shores and our families, and remain the hope of the world.
