2. Let me tell you a little story…
On inauguration day in January 2009
Barack Hussein Obama
the 47 year-old son of a white Kansan and a black Kenyan
a highly talented man but of limited political experience
from Illinois
became the 44th President of the United States
then President Obama and his wife and children slept at
the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue White House
it was a white house
built by black men
slaves of West African heritage
2
3. Let me tell you another little story
• Also in 2009: A Burning Question
• Did Mitt Romney pay any taxes in 2009?
• Romney's refusal to release tax returns prior
to 2010 has both parties thinking he has
something to hide. One theory is that he
didn't pay a penny in taxes in 2009
• Best Opinion: Businessweek, Bloomberg View,
Washington Post
3
4. Mitt Romney at a fund raising dinner…
• Q&A behind closed doors at the $50,000-per-plate
fundraiser in Boca Raton on May 17 2012
• On the 47 percent of Americans he regards as
moochers:
• "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for
the president no matter what. All right, there are 47
percent who are with him, who are dependent upon
government, who believe that they are victims, who
believe that government has a responsibility to care for
them, who believe that they are entitled to health care,
to food, to housing, to you name it."
4
5. Mitt Romney on the Palestinians…
On the "almost unthinkable" prospects
for Mideast peace:
"And I look at the Palestinians not
wanting to see peace anyway, for
political purposes, committed to the
destruction and elimination of Israel, and
these thorny issues, and I say there's just
no way."
5
6. Overall Election
Spending 2012
OBAMA TEAM ROMNEY TEAM
$924,798,889 $974,905,862
University of Goldman
1
$1,079,526 $994,139
California Sachs
Microsoft Bank of
2
$761,343 $921,839
Corp America
3
Google Inc $737,055 Morgan
US $827,255
4
$614,665 Stanley
Government JPMorgan
Harvard $792,147
5
$602,992 Chase & Co
University
Credit Suisse
$618,941
Group
6
7. Mitt Romney as successful businessman
• Mitt Romney is basing his presidential campaign
largely on his success as a businessperson building
Bain Capital into a leading private equity company
• While it is questionable how much success in
business prepares a person for success in the
White House (Herbert Hoover was the last
president with notable success as a
businessperson)
• It is important to understand that Mr. Romney is
not a successful business person in the same way
as other people who have built successful
companies
7
8. How Romney made his money
• Private equity companies like Bain Capital are not primarily about
producing wealth
• They profit largely by siphoning off wealth created elsewhere in
the economy. There are many different ways in which this
diversion of wealth is accomplished. The simplest and most
common trick is gaming the tax code.
• It is absolutely standard practice for private equity companies to
immediately load up the companies they acquire with debt.
• This has two benefits for the PE company. First, it allows them to
get most of their money back right away. They end up with a
heavily leveraged company, where the PE company is still in
control, but has little of its own money at risk. 8
9. How Obama made his money
• In his 2004 financial statements, Barack Obama indicated that
he had three sources of income. One was an $80,287 salary
from the Illinois Senate, where he was a state senator
• The other was a $32,144 salary from the University of Chicago
Law School, where Obama taught as a lecturer while he was in
the statehouse
• The third was Michelle's salary from the University of Chicago
Hospitals, where she was an administrator
• Later, he made a fortune from the two books he wrote about
his life and he invested it wisely
9
10. Candidate‘s Personal Wealth
The Obamas Mitt Romney
• Barack and Michelle • Mitt Romney, estimated at
Obama have assets worth over $200m
up between $2.6m and • Refused to publish tax
$8.3m, according to returns for 2009
financial disclosure forms
for 2011 made public by
the White House
• Obama's assets show he is
far from being an average
American
10
11. Economy
Obama Romney
• Plan centres on tax cuts
• Signed the stimulus, a $768bn • Repeal of Obama's 2010
package of tax cuts and healthcare reform law
investment in education, • Repeal of 2010 Wall Street and
infrastructure, energy banking regulations, and in
research, health, and other general the reduction of other
regulations he says stifle
programmes
economic growth
• Backed a bailout of the US • Opposed the auto industry
auto industry bailout
• Signed trade agreements with • Proposes to reduce federal
Colombia, Panama and South spending significantly but gives
Korea few details about which
programmes he would cut
11
12. Healthcare
Obama Romney
• Vast 2010 healthcare reform • Would seek repeal of Mr Obama's
law aims for universal health health law, though it is modelled
insurance coverage by on a law he signed in
requiring individuals who are Massachusetts
not otherwise covered to • Would return most health policy
purchase insurance to the states
• Restricted insurers' ability to • Would limit doctor malpractice
lawsuits
deny coverage based on pre-
existing ailments • Would encourage individuals
without insurance to buy it on the
• The law offers states grants to private market, including by
increase enrolment of poor purchasing it in other states with
people in the Medicaid public lighter coverage requirements
insurance programme and lower costs
12
13. Taxes
Obama Romney
• Has cut effective taxes for • Would make permanent all Bush-
era tax cuts
most Americans • Further cut individual income tax
• Would repeal Bush-era tax rates
• Eliminate taxes on investment
cuts for households making income
more than $250,000 a year • repeal the estate tax, and reduce
the corporate income tax rate
• proposes the "Buffet rule" • According to the non-partisan Tax
named for billionaire Policy Center, taxpayers at high
Warren Buffet, which would income levels would see the
greatest benefit. Would make up
increase the effective tax the revenue by closing unnamed
rate paid by millionaires tax loopholes
13
14. Iran
Obama Romney
• Says he is determined to prevent • Says it is unacceptable for Iran
Iran from developing a nuclear to possess a nuclear weapon
weapon
• Opposes a near-term military • Says military action "remains
strike by US or Israel on Iran's on the table" and analysts say
nuclear facilities he presents a clearer military
• emphasises need for a diplomatic threat to Iran
solution but warns "that window
is closing" and has said "all • Would send Navy ships to
options are at the table“ patrol the Mediterranean and
• signed new sanctions against Persian Gulf; calls for more
Iran's central bank, oil revenues sanctions; would publicly back
and financial system Iranian opposition groups
14
15. National security and war
Obama Romney
• Has killed much of al- • Would spend heavily on
Qaeda's leadership, military hardware and
including Osama Bin Laden invest in missile defence
• Pulled US troops out of Iraq • Add an estimated $100bn to
• Agreed to a $487m the Pentagon's budget
reduction in defence • Reduce the civilian defence
spending over 10 years with bureaucracy
congressional Republicans
15
16. Afghanistan
Obama Romney
• Initially increased the • Has said his "goal" would be
number of troops in "a successful transition to
Afghanistan; has begun a Afghan security forces by
draw-down of US troops the end of 2014"
with the combat mission to • But pledges to review
end by 2014 withdrawal plans and base
them "on conditions on the
ground as assessed by our
military commanders"
16
17. Illegal Immigration
Obama Romney
• Used executive power to • Criticises Mr Obama's
grant legal status to certain "stopgap" measure on
young illegal immigrants young illegal immigrants but
• Bypassing Republicans in does not say whether he
Congress would overturn it
• Has dramatically increased • Says the US should
deportations of illegal encourage migrants to "self-
immigrants deport" by making life hard
for them
17
18. Abortion
Obama Romney
• Says "My presidency will be a pro-
• Supports abortion rights life presidency”
• Appointed two Supreme • He supported abortion rights
Court justices who appear when he was running for
to favour abortion rights governor Massachusetts in 2002
• Supports overturning the Roe v.
Wade Supreme Court ruling
legalising abortion and allowing
states to decide whether abortion
should be legal
• Would strip federal funding from
Planned Parenthood women's
health clinics
18
19. Energy
Obama Romney
• Supports investment in clean • Would ease regulations
energy such as wind turbines preventing coal-burning power
and advanced car batteries plants, oil exploration and
• Tightened car fuel efficiency nuclear power plant
and emissions standards construction
• Blocked development of the • Would encourage drilling for
Keystone oil pipeline to move oil in the Atlantic and Pacific
oil sands crude from Canada to outer continental shelves
the Gulf of Mexico • Proposes to ease regulations
• Says the US had not had • Pledges to build the Keystone
sufficient time to judge its pipeline
environmental impact
19
20. Key States to watch
with Electoral College votes
• Colorado • 9
• Florida • 29
• Iowa • 6
• New Hampshire • 4
• Ohio • 18
In recent elections, the Buckeye State has proved itself to be
a remarkably good predictor of the election winner. Since
1944, Ohioans have sided with the losing candidate only
once – opting for Nixon over Kennedy in 1960
• Virginia • 13
• Wisconsin • 10
20
21. And then came the results …
Presidential 270 to win
303 Obama 206 Romney
Obama 60,447,060 votes (50.4%)
Romney 57,644,747 votes (48.1%)
Senate (upper) 54 Democrats (up 1)
45 Republicans (down 2)
House (lower) 195 Democrats (up 2)
234 Republicans (down 8)
21
22. More information
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/
2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map
• Obama Website: • Romney Website:
• www.barackobama.com • www.mittromney.com
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