No Doubt: Mitt Romney Is Going to Win

Am I cocky? No. Dancing in the end zone yet? Not me. Can I say with certainty this will be a landslide blowout? I want to, but can’t right now. Though I think it’s possible. Am I feeling very confident about Tuesday’s outcome? You bet. And why shouldn’t I? The evidence is all around us. Mitt Romney’s going to be the next President of the United States.Lots of nervous Romney supporters still allow a desperate mainstream media to convince them Obama’s the inevitable candidate. That’s just holdover concern from four years ago. I’ll admit, I felt the same way then. There was no stopping Obama. C’mon, he was going to “slow the rise of the ocean!” How do you beat that?

But that was then. He has a resume now. His performance review is due.

I’m still getting family and friends sincerely asking me, “Chris, can Romney really win?” My answer has been the very same since the beginning of this year. “What evidence is there to suggest Obama can win?”

Look, you know the sad stats just as I do. We know them cold. We can say them in our sleep. Forty-seven million Americans are on food stamps. The unemployed and underemployed hover between 15 percent and 20 percent. Millions of us have just stopped looking for work and dropped out. Minority unemployment and poverty sit at devastating highs.

Student debt has now topped a record $1 trillion. Forty-three percent of Americans under 25 are still living with their parents. And why shouldn’t they? Obamacare now says they qualify as “kids” who must be covered by their parents’ health insurance until age 26.

Oh, then there’s all that pesky government spending and debt. We’re a nation $16 trillion in debt and counting—$6 trillion attributed to President Obama’ s spending in the last three-plus years. Health insurance premiums are higher, not lower. Gas prices are on average over double the $1.86 per gallon they were when Obama took office. Try getting a home loan for the first time. Try selling your house or refinancing your mortgage loan since Obama and his pals “regulated” lending standards.

I’m sure you have more. That’s just some of the fiscally devastating news. We haven’t even touched Obama’s lack of leadership or unwillingness to lead on Medicare and Social Security insolvency. He hasn’t even offered a general operating budget for our government that’s secured a single vote in Congress.

In short, I’ll ask again. “What evidence is there to suggest Obama should win?”

I know, I know. You’re saying, “But Chris, the media won’t cover this stuff! You know it, I know it, but the average voter doesn’t understand what you’ve just shared.”

Listen, I’m not trying to romance this or seem too “Pollyanna” about things. I’d simply ask you to have some faith in the American people—even those who don’t pay the kind of attention you do still feel the effects. Folks are hurting, and they don’t need a column full of poor economic statistics to know something’s terribly wrong.

Let’s also discuss another basic barometer I still believe the American people can read: character.

October’s debate performances were devastating for President Obama and Vice President Biden. The most highly watched debate was the first. Obama looked weak, meandering and indifferent. Romney was confident, informed, appropriately aggressive and positive. He left a first impression with millions of voters that couldn’t be undone.

The following three debates found Romney and Ryan continuing their display of competence, calm, discipline and, once again, positivity. They looked like adults. They looked like leaders. They offered ideas. Most importantly, they baited a trap. And the Obama/Biden campaign took that bait.

As Romney continued to talk about big ideas like economic recovery and job creation with a calm smile, his crowds grew. The undecided and independent voters began to flock. Romney’s campaign rallies in states like Colorado, where he’s not supposed to be competitive, continued to swell.

What’s happened to the once lofty “we are the one’s we’ve been waiting for” campaign of Obama? It’s been reduced to silly conversations about Big Bird, birth control and “binders full of women.”

It’s just so … small.

The snarky, hateful, petulant stump speeches making fun of Romney’s name as a health condition (“romnesia”). The constant TV appearances on the likes of The Daily Show, the Tonight Show, The View. He’s recently been quoted in Rolling Stone calling Romney a “bullshitter,” and appeared on MTV to talk about his iPod playlists. It’s empty, it’s hollow, it’s unserious, it’s just—small.

Trust the American public to know what they’re seeing and feeling even if they don’t follow it with the passion you and I do.

They know this is not behavior befitting the office of president. They see the trouble our nation faces and the flailing leadership of this unaccountable, petty, finger-pointing, name-calling, small president.

Then, there’s just something I’m “feeling” about the Romney/Ryan ticket.

At a recent rally of more than 10,000 supporters in Red Rocks, Colorado, Romney was caught backstage after the remarkable turnout in a moment of reflection. The barely audible moment of solitude was reported online by The Ulsterman Report.

… the governor lowers his head, eyes shut tight and you could see him take a slow deep breath and then he lets it out and says quietly, “Lord, if this is your will, please help to make me worthy. Please give me the strength Lord.”

Do I know President Obama isn’t that quietly humble, reflective and human in private? No, I don’t. Just a feeling I have.

Romney’s going to win.

You can listen to Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210, WPHT, weekdays from 5:30 to 9 a.m., and follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ChrisStigall.