AbbiePapka

= Barack Obama = Democratic Candidate for President 2012 President of the United States 2008-current Home town: Chicago, Illinois

Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, to a Kenyan father, and a mother from Kansas. He was raised with help from his grandfather, a Patton's army soldier, and his grandmother, a middle manager at a bank. He is a graduate of Columbia University, as well as Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago, where he helped lead a voter registration drive, and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. His years of public service were based upon his strong belief in uniting people through politics. He was a very successful senator of Illinois from 2004-2008, when he resigned because of his victory in the presidential race. He was sworn in to the presidency in January 2009, and currently resides in the White House with his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11.

Opinion on 5 key issues: 1) President Obama believes that the United States should only intervene in affairs of other countries if it is a matter of national security, a human rights violation, or if we are specifically asked by the international community. 2) Obama believes that we should maintain the same military budget and spending. 3) Barack Obama believes that in matters of Social Security we should expand and increase the payroll tax on individuals making more than $250K to make up for the shortfall. 4) The president believes that federal government should continue giving tax credits and subsidies to the wind power industry because it is an important alternative to coal and natural gas. 5) Obama believes that U.S. National Parks and Forests should continue to be protected by the federal government, and that the government's domain to protect land should be expanded.

It can be said that Barack Obama's political philosophy is more about practical solutions than simplistic party ideologies. This being said, he still could be referred to as left leaning on the political spectrum. It is often said that he is quite pragmatic -- meaning dealing with things practically rather than theoretically.

Famous Obama quotes:

"It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today."

"Americans... still believe in an America where anything's possible- they just don't think their leaders do."

A recent speech:

This clip is from the America Forward! tour. []

3 recent articles about Obama: [] [] []

Mitt Romney's quotes against Obama: "And this President wakes up every morning, looking out across America and is proud to announce, 'It could be worse.' It could be worse? Is that what it means to be an American? It could be worse? Of course not. What defines us as Americans is our unwavering conviction that we know it must be better."

"Three years ago, this week, a newly elected President Obama faced the American people and he said, look, if I can't turn this economy around in three years, I'll be looking at a one-term proposition, and we're here to collect! You know the results. It's been 35 months of unemployment above 8 percent."

3 things you might not know about Obama: 1) His specialty as a cook is chili. 2) He has a set of red boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali. 3) He had a pet ape named Tata while in Indonesia. = Mitt Romney = Republican Candidate for President 2012 Former governor of Massachusetts (2003-07) Home town: Boston, Massachusetts

Romney was born in 1947, to a strong political family, with father George, the 45th governor of Michigan, automotive executive, and cabinet member under Nixon. He gained his education at Brigham Young University, followed by Harvard Law. He was a founder of Bain Capital, a private equity firm. He then went on to be appointed the president of the winter olympics committee in Salt Lake City, 2002. Later he became governor of Massachusetts, from 2003 to 2007. During his time in office, he was the architect of a health reform law, which required residents to obtain a minimum of insurance coverage. In 2008, he made an unsuccessful bid as Republican President Nominee. He is currently married to Ann Romney, with five children Tagg, Matthew, Joshua, Benjamin, and Craig.

Opinion on 5 key issues: 1) Mitt Romney believes that the United States should only ever intervene with the affairs of other countries if it is a matter of national security. 2) Romney believes that the United States should increase military budget and spending. 3) Governor Romney believes that in matters of Social Security we should reform and raise the retirement age to account for people living longer. 4) Romney believes that traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and nuclear power will be reliable for many years to come, and thus we shouldn't give tax credits and subsidies to the wind power industry. 5) Mitt Romney believes that the federal government should not continue to protect U.S. National Parks and Forests.

It can be said that Mitt Romney has a conservative view point in this election. I say in this election, because he has seemed to make a pattern with changing his views. When he ran for Governor 1994, it was believed that he was sincere about keeping abortion legal, and now he says that he doesn't want abortion, unless it is by causes of rape, or will cause damage to the mother (the mother being a high-risk).He strongly believes that it is not okay to just have the economy be the way it is, and hand it down to the next generation. He also is a strong believer that America is great, and always will be a great place.

Famous Mitt Romney quotes:

"And the American people are the greatest people in the world.What makes America the greatest nation in the world is the heart of the American people: hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God-loving, family-oriented American people."

"Leadership, leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses."

A Mitt Romney speech:

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3 recent articles about Mitt Romney: [] [] []

3 interesting facts you probably didn't know: 1) While a bishop in Massachusetts, his church mysteriously burnt down. 2) Romney took the head of a major search for a partner's missing daughter, including shutting down Bain Capital for a day or two. 3) He took no salary as intern in a government office, in his church role, and as president of the Salt Lake City Olympics, but he did take a ceremonial $1 for his work as Massachusetts governor

Political Analysis of who will win:

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According to the NY times, President Obama has a larger chance of winning. This website states that the popular vote will be much closer than the electoral college vote, but that President Obama will prevail victorious.