A Debate Closing Statement for President Obama

Posted on Oct 14, 2012 in Public Relations | 0 comments

By Douglas Simon, President & CEO, D S Simon Productions

In the first two debates, both President Obama’s and Vice President Biden’s closing statements seemed to lack the preparation given to the closing statements of Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. As a communicator, it is a missed opportunity. Here’s my suggestion for President Obama for the next debate.

 

Thank you. Are we better off than we were four years ago?

Ask an auto worker in Ohio or Michigan who would have been out of work if we let General Motors go bankrupt as Governor Romney advocated. Unemployment was 8.3% when I took office and we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. It’s now at 7.8% and we’ve adding more than five million new private sector jobs.

Ask someone who has their retirement savings in the stock market. The stock market was at 7,900 on my inauguration day. Today it is over 13,000.

Ask a parent whose child couldn’t afford HealthCare but is now allowed to stay on their plan. The number of Americans without healthcare dropped by more than 1.3 million because of the Affordable Care Act and this has helped small businesses. One business owner Doug Simon of D S Simon Productions told me he saves thousands of dollars a month because young people stay on their parents plan. He’s been able to hire new workers because of ObamaCare.

Ask the mother of a soldier who has been able to return home. When I took office we were fighting two wars. Our soldiers—the finest fighting force the world has ever seen—were stretched thin. As promised we ended the war in Iraq and will be out of Afghanistan in 2014. Al Qaeda is weakened and Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Ask a worker in our booming US energy industry—reducing our reliance on foreign oil.

Ask women who are now guaranteed equal pay for equal work due to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, are receiving graduate degrees and starting businesses in record numbers and have control over their own health decisions.

There is a clear choice in this election. The Republican platform and my opponents advocate many of the failed policies that got us into this mess. A 20% tax cut for the wealthiest Americans that would add five trillion dollars to the debt and couldn’t be paid for even if we eliminated the mortgage deduction (Stat not yet vetted).  They advocate eliminating the law that allows you to keep your insurance even if you have a pre-existing condition. They oppose our commitment to end the war in Afghanistan and speak recklessly about foreign policy. Their platform calls for an end to abortion even in the case of incest or rape.

While we have made progress, I am far from satisfied. It’s been too slow. Too many Americans are hurting. That’s why we propose that the wealthiest in this country pay their fair share so we can invest in education, in infrastructure and create opportunity for the middle class to achieve the American Dream. I ask your vote so we can continue on a path forward for all Americans. Thank you and God Bless America.