Romney Earns Opportunity To Lead Nation

Conventional wisdom says Arkansas goes for Mitt Romney on Tuesday.

Arkansas has voted for the eventual winner, mostly Republicans, in nine of the last 10 presidential contests. The only time the state went against the tide was 2008, favoring Republican John McCain over Barack Obama.

So the writing’s pretty much on the wall. We’ll join in today with our endorsement of Mitt Romney to be the next president.

Barack Obama has been a failure if anyone is measuring by the promises he made four years ago. His supporters aren’t, having given up on the grand ideals and changes Obama promised to gain the White House. He knew Washington was a place of division and the next president faced serious challenges to bridge the divide. He promised he was the man to get the job done.

Today, he acknowledges the failures while asking Americans to blame anyone but him. With just four more years, Mr. Obama assures us, he’ll get it done.

We were just as exhilarated by the election of the nation’s first black president as anyone. It was a great testament to how far our nation has come.

But four years later, the nation needs a president whose election isn’t about making history, but about making progress.

The nation needs a president who is less interested in expansion of government and more interested in creating an atmosphere in which Americans can get back to work. Security comes from a steady income in exchange for the hard work Americans have traditionally been ready to do.

The nation needs an effective leader and will get it in Mitt Romney. His fi nancial sector experience will help the nation move forward, not through government largesse but private sector job growth. He’s pledged to reduce the defi cit, which will be diftcult, but we suspect he’ll do far better than Mr. Obama’s record. Romney stands a far better chance as a moderate Republican to find common ground in a Congress that needs to show the American people it can accomplish good things for the nation.

In world politics, Romney will end Obama’s weakening of the United States’ leadership role among nations.

Romney is far better prepared to be president than Obama was four years ago or is today. Based on what we’ve seen since 2009, we’re convinced Romney will be the effective leader this country needs.

WOMACK SHOULD BE RE-ELECTED Steve Womack has clearly earned a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Womack’s conservative politics and values are in sync with the vast majority of the voters in the Third Congressional District. He’s also made it clear that he’s willing to stand up for his district in the face of criticism from either side.

For example, Womack is a co-sponsor of the Marketplace Equity Act, a proposal that would empower states to require online retailers to collect and remit legally due sales taxes. Some unfairly criticized Womack for backing a tax increase. But the act doesn’t increase taxes. It just makes collection of taxes from online retailers easier. That in turn would level the playing fi eld for small local businesses against unfair online competition. That’s the kind of leadership voters expect from their Washington representatives.

The other candidates are Rebekah Kennedy of the Green Party and David Pangrac of the Libertarian Party. They will draw only a handful of votes.

But it’s not the weakness of Womack’s opponents that will get him re-elected. It’s the strength of his connection to the voters of the district that will carry the day.