Romney must not get away with just criticizing Obama

For three days this week, Repub- licans in Tampa, Fla., whacked at President Barack Obama like a pi ±ata. Next week the Democrats get their chance to respond in kind against the GOP nominee for president, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

That’s what political conventions are all about: form over substance; high theater; sound bites.

But when the faithful of both parties come down from the highs of crowning their standard bearers, the American people will still have a lot questions that need to be answered.

And the onus is on Romney to provide the voters with more than just clever slogans and a critique of Obama’s three years and eight months as president. Obama’s record is there for all to see. The voters know what they can expect in the next four years if he is re-elected. Romney remains an enigma.

During the GOP convention, the presidential nominee, his vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, and all the other speakers were unrelenting in their criticism of Obama’s tenure.

Their attacks can be summed up thus: The president has destroyed the American economy and has chalked up record budget deficits. A Romney administration, they proclaimed, will balance the budget and return America to economic greatness.

The Republicans’ solution is brilliant in its simplicity: Cut taxes, especially for the rich, and cut government spending. But neither Romney nor Ryan, touted by the GOP as the expert on the federal budget, provided details as to how that would work.

In the next two months, the American people must demand specifics. If you cut taxes, revenue will decrease. There is no guarantee that the money saved by the wealthy will be reinvested in job-creation endeavors. The Bush tax cuts after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks did not result in an explosion of job-creation. Individuals who benefitted the most from the tax cuts followed a low-risk investment strategy with their money.

What exactly will Romney do to balance the budget? What programs will he cut? What tax deductions will he eliminate in order to make up the revenue loss from the tax cuts?

“I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs,” the GOP presidential nominee said Thursday night. What is it? He ticked off five things he believes would enable him to meet that goal: energy independence; education; trade policy; deficit reduction; and championing small businesses.

That’s a wish list — not a strategy.

Solutions

As the challenger, Romney has the task of showing the American people that he has solutions to the myriad problems confronting the nation. It’s not enough to say that the president has failed and that a Romney administration will do better.

For instance, he blasted the president on his handling of Iran’s push to develop nuclear weapons capability, but did not say what he would do to get the ayatollahs in Tehran to back down. Will he launch an American attack to destroy the nuclear production facilities? Will he encourage Israel to launch a full-scale war — with a promise of U.S. support?

Romney delivered a good acceptance speech Thursday in that he was able to introduce himself to the nation. Now, he must show that his business credentials, which he touts as the best qualifications to serve as president, can be applied to the public sector.