Dear Undecided Voter,
First of all, congratulations on being able to remain undecided after one of the most polarized elections in our history and where the two candidates could not be more different in terms of philosophy or their vision of America. You are truly a rare breed. I wonder how you pick which movie to watch or what to eat for dinner but that's irrelevant. What does matter is who you vote for.
Given that our country is now firmly divided into liberal and conservative camps and that most Americans are pretty convinced about their respective candidates, you guys may well hold the swing vote, which is why I thought it would be good to help you make the right choice.
If you are looking for a candidate who you can relate to, Mitt Romney is undoubtedly your man. Why is that?
Because, like yourselves, he just cannot make up his mind.
Sometimes he wants to be a moderate, at other times he is an ultra-conservative; as governor he was a champion of universal healthcare but as president he thinks it would be a really bad idea; sometimes he agrees with the bailout of the auto industry, at other times he opposes it, only to support it again just before attacking it again; he supported equal rights for gay couples in Massachusetts but is not so sure about it anymore; he believes in equal pay for women but not in any laws that uphold equal pay for women, but he really does think that they should be paid the same as men; he believes firmly in disaster relief but wants to cut funding for FEMA.
And that's not all.
He used to hate Dodd-Frank but after the second presidential debate it seems he actually likes it, but still thinks any regulation whatsoever will hamper our economic growth, unless it's Dodd-Frank; he really wants to teach China some business manners through trade tariffs and with a prohibitive tax on Dim Sum but happily financed a Chinese company that literally takes jobs away from American workers; he was always for a tough stance against Middle Eastern extremism but has since realized that we need to win the hearts and minds of Arabs too, just not if they hurt Israel or attack another U.S. consulate -- but which he still believes is the right approach; he badly wants to cut the deficit but wants to spend an additional $2 trillion on defense and provide a 20 percent tax cut, which he will offset by closing tax loopholes while still giving Americans the promised 20 percent tax cut (I'm still trying to figure out the math on this one).
I could go on and on and back and forth and flip and flop, just like Romney, but my bet is that you are already pretty comfortable with his non-committal non-stances and can sympathize with his dilemma. So many decisions, so little ability to actually make them and stick to them...
So hopefully this piece has helped you decide, at least tentatively, on who to cast your vote for on November 6. If you want an Undecided President who can hesitantly straddle the line between confusion and inaction for the next four years, then Mitt Romney will not disappoint you.
But if you are looking for true leadership and a firm, resolute hand on the wheel, then it should be obvious that Barack Obama is the only logical choice. Hey, don't take my word for it -- just take Romney's own constantly shape-shifting statements instead.
Sincerely,
A Decided Voter
Sanjay Sanghoee has worked at leading investment banks Lazard Freres and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein as well as at a multi-billion dollar hedge fund. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School and is the author of a financial thriller, entitled Merger which the Chicago Tribune called "Timely, Gripping, and Original." Please visit www.sanghoee.com for details.