Now that former Sen. Rick Santorum has withdrawn from the race for the GOP nomination for president, it is almost a certainty that former Gov. Mitt Romney will be the party choice.
Barring some grave political misstep by Romney that would enrage the right wing of the GOP and cause an open convention in August, he will now begin to campaign against President Barack Obama, exclusively.
As well, the Democratic Party now has a clear target to campaign against in the person of Romney. Both Romney and Obama have been very thoroughly vetted. Romney, in particular, has been challenged by GOP candidates in almost every imaginable way. We doubt that anything new in terms of his past will be revealed that might shock the general public.
In our view, campaigning over past successes and failures should not be the focus of this campaign. It is the future that has Americans angry and afraid now, and we all want to know what can be done to improve on that future, domestically and internationally.
There is where the focus should be now. For example, we already know, despite what ruling the Supreme Court may render in June over the Affordable Care Act that Romney would try hard to repeal the ACA immediately after becoming president. What we do not know is how he would deal with health care issues without the ACA.
Americans are clearly dissatisfied with conditions in our country today. We all want to hear how to improve those conditions such as growth in the economy, lower unemployment, improving health care, and the list goes on and on.
We call on both candidates and both parties to now provide a very clear vision for America in the next four years, along with a plan to achieve that vision.
Opinion
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Discussion
Our View: Focus on future
- Opinion
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Our View: Finding the way forward
Communication failures and the lack of a clear mission have given rise to turmoil and discord at Missouri Southern State University. The antidote to this is openness, frankness and the articulation of a well-defined purpose as the school moves forward.
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Your View: Finding audience for Bard
It was interesting to see Globe columnist Mike Pound’s recollection of college studies of the Bard of Avon in association with the upcoming production of “Macbeth.”
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Your View: Shifting opinions
I have a suggestion for a Joplin Globe feature. Reprint all the letters and columns from years past that were in favor of the Patriot Act and how people who showed any concern over it “wanted the terrorists to win.”
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James Whitford, guest columnist: New definition needed
I remember meeting a man on the main road through Fond Parisien, a small community on the eastern side of Haiti.
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Our View: Connecting the town
Well before the 2011 tornado, Joplin had a problem with “connectivity.” That’s right. The flow of traffic — whether it be cars, pedestrians or bicyclists — has been a sore spot with us for years.
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Your View: Bold leadership needed
Dear City Council Members, Let me first thank you for your service to our community.
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Other Views: Debt of honor
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have promised to kill Afghans who worked for the Americans and their families. In Iraq, similar threats were made by radical Islamic insurgents.
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Herb Van Fleet, guest columnist: Big Brother is always watching and listening
Sen. Church made that statement 38 years ago. He chaired a committee that was formed to develop legislation to rein in the CIA, FBI, NSA and other intelligence agencies, which had been operating outside the bounds of the law, including the Constitution.
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Jury still out on whistle-blower’s actions
Whether you see Edward Snowden as a hero, a traitor or something in between, there is no denying that the admitted “leaker” has opened up an industrial-size can of National Security Agency worms.
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Trish Patton, guest columnist: Downtown group needs stakeholders' support
On Tuesday the Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) tabled the Community Improvement District (CID) initiative.
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