I keep hearing that this election is all about the economy.  Some people believe because Mitt Romney has money, he knows how create jobs for America.  I am of the opinion that how you made your money is just as important as having it.  I would not have elected John Gotti to the office of President (although, maybe some people would have) and he created a lot of jobs and made a lot of money.  He probably would not have given up his tax returns either.  Don't get all in a huff; I am not accusing Mitt Romney of being a criminal or comparing him to Gotti.  After all, I think Gotti made all of his money.  Mitt started out with a pretty good stake.  However, I am pointing out that there are different ways to make money and all of those ways are not right for America.  I think voters need to know more about how Mitt Romney made his fortune and more about whether or not he thought enough of America enough to invest his money in it; I want to see those tax returns. 

It is not unusual for there to be differences between political adversaries.  After all, isn’t that the essence of the election…giving the electorate the opportunity to choose their path? 

From day one we knew President Obama wanted universal healthcare; we knew he supported gay rights.  We knew he believed in taking care of the least of us; we knew he believed in equal pay for equal work.  We knew he wanted immigration law reform; we knew he wanted more collaboration in foreign policy.  We knew he his father was from Africa and his mother and grandmother raised him.  We knew he was a community worker before his political undertakings and did not have a wealth of experience in foreign affairs or business.  He didn’t pretend he had more experience—he just came with seemingly good thought processes and a good heart.  And, we knew he was pretty damn smart.  And as they got in and found the country was in more trouble than they thought, the administration has been pretty forthcoming about that as well. 

I find myself extremely disturbed by the reluctance to share of the Romneys…until very recently they didn’t even embrace their lifelong religion.  They don’t want to discuss their anti-gay or their pro-life stance (and, for the life of me, I don’t understand the reasoning for their flight on these issues); they don’t want to disclose their tax returns (big red flag).  They don’t want to talk about Massachusetts (another, big red flag) and have been pretty foggy on Romney’s actual work at Bain Capital (hmmm).  Yesterday morning I watched Paul Ryan run from his vote on the deal tying the automatic decrease of the defense bill into debt ceiling agreement.  And, the fast talking he did to explain every question was so disturbing.   Flight from their agenda is their calling card. 

So, it is not the things that they stand for that I find most troubling—it is truly their flight from these issues.  I understand that there are some people who are not pro-choice and that there are some that will never be supportive of gay marriage.  If this election is truly only about the economy then what difference will sharing those other things matter?  Most people who hold beliefs are more than willing to be honest and upfront about where they stand.  They are not willing to compromise their beliefs for politics.  As a matter of fact,whether we like it or not, their beliefs are their politics. 

As a voter, is it asking too much to ask our candidates to share who they really are and allow us to make a choice?