Today is Election Day and the race for President is still very close.  Both candidates will spent the last week campaigning tirelessly in the swing states following a break from Hurricane Sandy.  The choice between the two men is clear because they have very different views of the country and the world.  In terms of policies, both should be judged by their actions, not their words.  President Obama is the great communicator but a number of his decisions over the past four years have been questionable, including the Affordable Care Act.  We might not be as hated as we were before in the eyes of the world, but we are perceived as weaker.  The photo and video of the President bowing to the Saudi King should be etched in the mind of every citizen.  Our economy is still lackluster and the effect of stimulus money has run its course.  While he wants to limit the power of corporations, without them, there are no jobs.  The government and poor people, don’t create a robust economy.  It can’t be simpler than that.  We are in the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits, that is much a threat to this country than any outside force.  He has used the Bush excuse for too long and it has becomes tired and boring.  For Romney’s part, everyone in Massachusetts has health insurance.  Women have reproductive rights, including funded abortions.  Romney reached across the aisle to legislate it.  He helped improve the education system, offering teachers performance bonuses.  He did indeed balance the budget.  It’s part of the public record.  Is it far easier to run a state than the country?  Absolutely, but he has far more experience as a Governor and Businessman then the President did when he took office.  In defense of Romney, politicians say what they need to in order to win.  That should be no surprise to anyone other than the most naive among us.   That’s why, the “Primary” Mitt Romney is so different than the “General Election” Mitt Romney.  He’s not a flip flopper, if you understand his record. He merely did what he needed to, in order to win his parties’ nomination.  Unfortunately for mainstream Republican candidates running for President, that’s the only way to win.  It’s the reason a far right, extremist like Rick Santorum, did so well.  The ultra conservatives vote in numbers in order to further their conservative agenda.  What the extreme right doesn’t seem to understand however, is that Santorum would have lost a national election by a landslide.  It surely would not have been as close as the race between Obama and Romney.  This race ultimately does boils down to, 1) are we better off now than four years ago and 2) do we think this President is the man to lead us for the next four years or do we need a change?  One thing is certain.  This election will be one of the closest, certainly in terms of the popular vote, that we have ever seen in the history of this country.