Daniel Lubetzky

As a fierce independent who was undecided for a significant time, here are four core reasons why I am absolutely convinced a vote to re-elect President Obama is imperative:

1. Character: Obama is not perfect, but he has a core set of values that guide him quite consistently; Romney morphs at each opportunity to say what the current audience wants him to hear – he has no discernible core; some excuse his pandering during the primaries as a basic reality of politics; but the way he outright switched positions from one day to another on virtually every issue goes beyond anything I can remember in decades of following elections; if Romney were to be elected, politicians would feel that gives them the license to handle themselves the way Romney did, undermining paramount values like truthfulness and transparency.

2. Climate Change: this video says it all.

3. Choice: Romney has repeatedly stated he will oppose women’s choice as it relates to their own bodies. Abortion is a truly tragic event. But the federal government should not be manipulated to impose a dogma over women’s lives.

4. Conflict: If Romney were to be elected, it is highly unlikely that Olmert or Livni will step in to run in Israeli elections; Netanyahu will almost surely be re-elected and be seen as the man who stood up to Obama and brought him down (which in and of itself is a terrible precedent for the US and Israel); Netanyahu and Abbas are almost certain not to be able to get to peace – quite the opposite, Netanyahu, already co-opted by the settler movement, may annex the West Bank, ending the prospects of Israel and Palestine and the Arab and Muslim world achieving peace; 50 years later, even those who blessed the day Israel annexed the West Bank, will curse Netanyahu and Romney for turning the region into another Lebanon or Balkan region; in contrast, if Obama is re-elected, Olmert can be elected and can achieve a historic resolution of the conflict with Abbas within the first year of their administrations.

On the economy, Obama and Romney each turn me off for different reasons, and I worry about the deficit equally under both scenarios because politicians have shown no bipartisan courage or leadership. On reigning in Wall Street abuses, Obama’s lack of action against Corzine upsets me greatly, but Romney is far more beholden to special interests. On Iran, Romney is unlikely to be able to do any more than Obama has – and he went on record and said he’d follow the same policies. Obama has made plenty of tactical mistakes in foreign policy (some of which turned into strategic blunders), but overall he has managed turbulent times with greater dexterity and international credibility and support than Romney would be able to command.