New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

A mural of a woman’s face holding up a chain with the word “LOISAIDA” and a gold cityscape. The words “el bohio murals” and “#BRINGARTBACK” are next to the woman alongside the words “CURATED BY … THRIVECOLLECTIVE.ORG.”
Activists’ 25-year fight to revive an East Village community center
Dharma Niles, Deputy News Editor • Mar 12, 2024
A front entrance with the text “Electric Lady Studios” written in a retro white font on two reflective walls.
‘An exploitative environment’: The interns behind Electric Lady Studios
Julia Diorio, Music Editor • Feb 20, 2024

Romney’s ambiguity was biggest flop in presidential debate

Following Wednesday’s debate, President Barack Obama seemed to have lost some steam in the race for re-election, with daily tracking polls from Reuters and Gallup showing  former Gov. Mitt Romney gaining ground after the GOP candidate’s strong performance. The president was immediately criticized for weak rebuttals and a soft demeanor.

No doubt, Romney’s debate performance was better, but, more importantly, his policies and vision for the direction of the country were not. He talked the talk, but common sense and math are telling us his plan for economic recovery cannot walk the walk. He claims that his tax policy proposal does not call for a $5 trillion dollar tax cut,  that it lowers taxes for middle class families and that it does not reduce taxes of high-income Americans are simply false. Romney’s plan demands a 20 percent tax cut in all federal income tax rates, shrinking federal revenue to $480 billion in 2015. If you total the loss of revenue for the decade it bring us to $5 trillion.  To patch up the gaping hole that would be left in our annual deficit, Romney has devised a secret plan to eliminate loopholes and tax deductions on the wealthy, explaining during the debate he could just “make up a number” where “anybody can have deductions up to that amount” and poof, “the number disappears for high-income people.” That’s specific.

As a presidential candidate, Romney has behaved like a stubborn child. He just crosses his arms and closes his eyes while shaking his head staunchly repeating, “Nuh-uh, not my plan,” and when questioned, sticks his nose in the air and says, “I’m not gonna tell you what it is.” The fact is we do not come close to knowing how Romney will make up the extensive revenue loss he wants to impose because he has not come close to telling us. He also seems to think this information does not matter.

His policy has become a vague plan rather than an actual course of action. In his recent interview on “60 Minutes,” Romney responded to Scott Pelley’s request for specifics by saying, “The devil’s in the details, but the angel’s in the policy,”  claiming that to be a leader in government you just have to lay out your principles.

Obama failed on Wednesday night by letting Romney get away with these claims. Instead of passionately persuading Americans that progressive economic policies are the right steps toward economic growth, affordable healthcare and sustainable social programs, the president just hung his head while Romney spewed facts and arguments that are dead wrong.

However, with Obama’s recent battle victories — unemployment dropping to its lowest rate since he took office and his campaign’s record-breaking $181 million in fundraising for the election cycle  — the president may not need to worry. I suppose Obama’s performance, just like the specifics in Romney’s economic policy, should be deemed irrelevant to this election.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday Oct. 8 print edition. Raquel Woodruff is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected]

View comments (4)

Comments (4)

Comments that are deemed spam or hate speech by the moderators will be deleted.
All Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

  • H

    Hippies SmellOct 9, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    Rachel’s middle name: “Sourgrapes”

    Reply
  • N

    NataliaOct 9, 2012 at 9:06 am

    I enjoyed reading your article and I think it was written very eloquently, but maybe this can help you see another point of view. I realize that Romney was very ambigious about his plans for our countries future, but how many plans can you make when you don’t have all the information and the fine details. Romney can’t possibly make any promises regarding the economy until he gets into office and sees how bad the situation really is. It is well known that the Press and Republicans have never seen eye to eye, so they are just waiting for him to make a promise or a plan that he can’t uphold so they can slander his name. I mean look at Bush. His big campaign was tax cuts but when he actually got into office he couldnt actually go through with his promises due to the horrible condition of the economy, so he did the best he could. For years he has been ridiculed for this, so I do understand why Romney doesn’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet. And as much as social issues are important, the biggest issue right now is our economy.

    Reply
  • A

    ArafatOct 8, 2012 at 8:27 am

    Gosh…why can’t Romney be as unambiguous as Obama is. I mean look at how crystal clear Obama has been about Guantanamo, Jerusalem being the capital of Israel (or not), Syria, Libya, gay rights and all the other issues he has taken conflicting sides on depending on which side of the bed he wakes up on.

    You would almost think these guys were politicians, or something. And we all know politicians make lawyers look like saints. Right?

    Reply
  • S

    Steven JaniszewskiOct 8, 2012 at 12:17 am

    During Wednesday night’s debate, Mitt Romney’s position on each topic was unambiguous, consistently the same, and simple: States’ Rights. Now, the race is defined as States Rights vs. Big Federal Government. Romney is an agent of the Mormon Church, which idolizes states’ rights. To gain an existential understanding of the cult that produced Mitt Romney, and to get your socks scared off, read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew, available in paperback and e-book on Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Assassination+of+Spiro+Agnew

    Its unwilling, part-Mexican Mormon assassin dramatizes the Mormon superiority complex, manifesting it as racism, sexism, jingoism and an anti-federal government temperament. His research in the new library reveals ominous similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The spiritual power behind the cult, which is not the Holy Ghost, acts out.

    “With a clarity of language and vision unsurpassed in contemporary American prose, Steven Janiszewski’s Assassination of Spiro Agnew takes us into a U.S. mazed with madness and Mormonism and all things Utah, a U.S. that was then and still is. Do we need a novel, even as brilliant as this one, about a young man on a divine mission to assassinate the Vice President because he is too liberal? Yes, now more than ever. Readers, welcome to a masterpiece.”
    Tom Whalen
    http://www.tomwhalen.com

    Read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew.

    Reply