Four years ago today, Candidate Obama criticized an economy that was “not working for ordinary people” and promised an economy that would finally work for the middle class:
 
Candidate Obama, Four Years Ago Today: “We Are At A Tough Time Right Now In This His Country … We Have Seen An Economy That Is Not Working For Ordinary People.” OBAMA: “But the other thing I've learned as I've traveled across the country is, is that that American dream feels like it's slipping away. You know? We are at a tough time right now in this his country, and I don't have to tell people here. You know, we have seen an economy that is not working for ordinary people.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Billings, MT, 8/27/08)
 
Candidate Obama: “Record Number Of Home Foreclosures …  People Not Being Able To Fill Up Their Gas Tanks. … Young People Having The Grades To Go To College But Not Having The Money.” OBAMA: “Manufacturing keeps shutting down. We have record number of home foreclosures, the most since any time since the Great Depression. Family bankruptcies. People not being able to pay for health care. People not being able to fill up their gas tanks. Seniors who try to figure out how they're going to pay their home heating this winter. Young people having the grades to go to college but not having the money.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Billings, MT, 8/27/08)
 
But four years later, North Carolina’s middle class isn’t better off:
 
North Carolina’s Unemployment Rate Is 9.6%, The Fifth-Highest In The Nation. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/15/12)
North Carolina Has 444,694 Unemployed Seeking Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/17/12)
53,500: North Carolina Jobs Lost Since Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/15/12)
$17,130: Each North Carolinian’s Share Of The Increase In The National Debt Since Obama Took Office. (Treasury Direct, Accessed 8/15/12)

The President’s policies have disappointed those who needed him most. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are offering a very different vision and a better future with 12 million new jobs and more take-home pay.

Gov. Romney wrote about his vision and plan to for the future of the middle class in an op-ed, “Restoring America’s Prosperity,” that ran in the Tampa Bay Times over the weekend:

“Our path is clear. Our goal is certain. We aim to restore America's prosperity and rebuild our position in the world.  All roads forward to these objectives must lead through a turnaround of the economy. We need to get the U.S. economy out of its slow-growth doldrums and on the path of rapid expansion. We need to strengthen America's middle class, creating plentiful jobs with good pay for all who seek them. That is our agenda.”

Americans are not just putting their support behind Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s comprehensive plans to solve the nation’s fiscal crisis and put people back to work, they are also rallying behind their proposals to restore Medicare for current seniors and keep the program solvent for future retirees. The Daily Caller notes, “GOP winning national Medicare debate two weeks after Romney picked lightning rod Ryan.”

Additionally, in an op-ed running in the Boston Globe, former Senator John Sununu writes, “Paul Ryan Gives Left Wing the Jitters”:

“Eighteen months ago, President Obama invited Paul Ryan to sit in the front row of a major budget address, and then took pains to insult the House Budget Chairman. Left-wing observers were only too happy to chuckle at Ryan’s expense, and wave off Obama’s boorish and immature behavior. Now, they’re in panic mode, because Romney and Ryan have plans and are more than happy to talk about them.”

And in case you missed it yesterday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Marco Rubio describes Gov. Romney as a “role model”:

Sen. Rubio:  “[I] hope people understand who Mitt Romney is. Because his business career has been well documented and his success is extraordinary in the business realm, but he's so much more than that. He was a successful governor. The job he did at the Olympics in Salt Lake City was extraordinary by all accounts. And then, look at his personal life. This man is a personal role model to younger men like me, as a father, as a husband.”

Today, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus will unveil a national debt clock mounted inside the convention hall of the Tampa Bay Times Forum - reinforcing the desperate need for new fiscal leadership in the White House. The debt clock will be activated today at 2:00 PM EDT when the convention convenes