Nov. 6, 2012 — There are many things one could say about Barack Obama: he has a great smile, he’s a rousing orator during his campaign stops and I would say he is also determined to hold onto his job.

  That, I’m afraid, is as far as I can go in the compliment department for the man who currently sits as president of the United States.

  In addition to observing the slight ups and major downs of his administration, I have also watched all three of the candidate debates on both the right-leaning Fox News Channel and the left-leaning CNN. I did this to be sure I heard the commentary and poll results from such polar perspectives.

  Now before you just write me off as a right-wing Obama basher, you should know that I make it a practice to vote for the best candidate of any party. I have an absolute aversion to voting the party line and believe that partisanship has only served to further cripple the recovery of America.

  For many years I was a registered Republican but my dissatisfaction with both sides of the aisle came to a head in 2008 and this led to my making a point to re-register as an independent.

  When presented with the choice between John McCain, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, I did vote Clinton despite my concerns about Bill being back in the White House.

  Still, I voted for the individual I believed to have the best credentials and plan. I also voted to make sure that Sarah Palin would never be No. 2 in anyone’s administration.

  To this day I still believe that Hillary Clinton would have done a better job than President Obama has and I also believe we might all have found life to be a bit better today had she been elected.

  I didn’t choose Obama the first time around when he was the candidate of “hope and change” and I’m certainly not going to vote for the candidate who has changed his slogan to “forward” despite his inability to lead the country anywhere. You often hear him say “four more years” and I say four was more than enough, no thank you.

  As in 2008 I am again taking into consideration the worst-case scenario that would move the vice president into the top slot. In addition to saying no to “four more years” I am voting a big NO for Joe Biden.

  While he might be a career politician who been in the information loop for a long time, his public performances have left me with the opinion that he is a condescending clown without a presidential bone in his body.

  I feel very strongly about America’s presence on the world stage and he is definitely not the person I want representing my country or me.

  If I’m not voting for Joe or his boss, that surely means I will be casting my vote for Mitt Romney. What’s refreshing about this election is that I feel like I will be voting for positive change.

  In the past elections I have often felt like my vote casting could be equated to choosing the lesser of evils. I don’t feel that way going into this election.

  The daily polls only re-enforce my decision to vote the Romney-Ryan ticket. I have observed Paul Ryan for a long time now and I like what I see and hear.

  The Romney-Ryan momentum is building around the nation and I hope it carries the day. It’s obvious from the numbers there is only one candidate America believes is approaching hope and change from a practical aspect.

  I think the world needs visionaries and I would put President Obama in that category. However, to get any task done you also need someone with leadership, business experience and fully capable of rolling up his or her sleeves to get the job done, something Romney has successfully demonstrated.

  Time is short. It is also a time when we need to think with our heads and not our hearts. It’s also a time when we are offered the opportunity to have a say about our future and that of our children.

  Voting is a privilege of the free world. Regardless of the candidate of your choice, make it your mission to step up and vote today.