In the first debate, Mitt Romney was on top of his game and the President didn’t put nearly enough pressure on him. Unfortunately for Mitt, the same can’t be said of the next two debates. In the more recent debates, Obama went on the offensive, consistently pointing out the inaccuracies and changes in position stated by Governor Romney as well as highlighting the accomplishments that his administration has made in the last four years.

It can’t be easy to debate a man who has claimed the support of both sides for nearly every major issue, but the President did just that. After all was said and done, I hate to sink the battleships of any Romney fans, but he lost the second and third debates: binders, Big Bird and all.

Perhaps there are Republicans who would be deserving of the presidency, but Mitt Romney is not one of them. Despite running on the idea that he will fix the economy, he plans to drastically increase military spending by $2 trillion, none of which was requested by the Armed Forces. He also disagrees with the President’s plan to end the Bush era tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, and has even gone so far as to say that he believes it’s fair that people making $50,000 a year should be paying a tax rate more than double the rate than people earning millions per year.

Those are only a small part of his proposed budget plan, which he says will erase the national debt while lowering taxes on everyone. But according to economists and fact checkers, his math doesn’t seem to add up. After all the campaigning, Governor Romney has shown a distinct lack of consistency, and it’s hard to know where he stands. He has shown only the ability to say whatever he needs to say to get elected, even if that means saying the exact opposite of his official platform.

The three presidential debates made the choices in this election clear. Americans can choose a man who has shown progress over the last four years through improving our standing in the international community, the defense of gay rights, a recovering economy and showing steadfast support for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He has also expanded grants for teachers and college students, pushed legislation to keep students on their parents’ health insurance and has shown his support of equal pay for women by signing the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” as well as defending a woman’s rights to make choices about her own reproductive health.

On the other hand, you can choose to vote for a man who believes that 47 percent of Americans don’t “take personal responsibility” and don’t matter. That 47 percent might be you, and it probably includes your grandparents. That statement revealed the real Mitt Romney, and it shows what we’d get with him as President. Barack Obama has continued to push America forward to a more peaceful, prosperous future, while a Romney administration would take us back to the errors of prior administrations.

Blake Farber is studying theater and political science. He can be emailed at [email protected].