Former Ohio Democratic Congressman Backs Romney

A former Ohio Democratic congressman has endorsed Mitt Romney for president in a column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

James Stanton, who served the Cleveland City Council for 11 years, six of them as council president, and then served in Congress from 1971 to 1977, has switched allegiances, writing:

I supported Barack Obama in 2008 because I liked what he had to say. But after four years of painful unemployment and $5 trillion in new debt under President Obama, it’s clear to me that he just hasn’t gotten the job done.  I am endorsing Gov. Mitt Romney because I believe it’s time for new leadership.

He continued, recalling Obama’s early promises:

[Obama] told the American people that policies like his $1 trillion stimulus bill would bring unemployment down to 5.4 percent by now. But today, we’re still 9 million jobs short of that goal. In fact, the unemployment rate is stuck exactly where it was when President Obama took office — 7.8 percent … I believe President Obama means well. And if he were offering something new, I would take a second look. But his agenda for a second term is the mirror image of the first term. Doing the same thing won’t produce better results.