Written by Walter Hecht   

Hardly a day passes without someone on the Right comparing Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. When I see or hear that, I stop reading or listening because I know that the speaker or writer does not know what he/she is talking about. On the hand, I think that there is a good case to be made for comparing Romney to Hoover, so permit me to make it.

Herbert Hoover was president from 1929 to 1933 and he did not cause the Great Depression which began about 6 months after he took office. Hoover had never run for public office before he became president, but he had plenty of government experience in Washington, and he was a highly respected businessman, well-beloved by his employees and respected for his charitable work. He saved thousands of lives in Europe with his relief work to prevent widespread starvation after WW1. He served as Harding's and Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce from 1921 to 1928. He did not cause the Great Depression, but he was at least partly responsible for its length and severity and he received all the blame. He tried to restore prosperity by the conventional methods of the times and failed. Prosperity was not "just around the corner."

I like Mitt Romney as a person and I will admit that he probably is a good person who was a successful businessman and is well-beloved by his close associates. However, I think that he would be a disaster as president. He has no Washington experience and once his tax cuts fail to restore the economy, he will have no idea what to do next. He has no foreign policy experience, nor does he have any military experience to aid him in his role as commander-in-chief. His Neocon advisers want a war with Iran which is likely to be a disaster if Iran shuts down the Strait of Hormuz. Mitt, like Herbert Hoover, is a good man who would be way out of his depth as president.

I voted for Barack in 2008 because he was the better candidate. John McCain admitted that the economy was not his strength and McCain usually advocates bombing in any international dispute. McCain would bomb first and talk later. In 2012, President Obama is again the better candidate. Mitt's business experience, like Hoover's, does not qualify him for the Oval Office, and Mitt is untested in international affairs and war and peace. Barack Obama has demonstrated his competence. I will vote to re-elect the President and I urge you to do the same. Americans still suffering from the effects of the Great Recession want, need and deserve a president who feels their pain and will do something about it beside cut taxes for the wealthy.