With Election Day rapidly approaching, I would like to remind folks of some of the achievements of President Barack Obama.

These are achievements that have been made despite the stated aims of Republican leaders that their top national priority was to ensure he would be a one-term president.

Theor goals were not to save the economy, not to defend the country, not to put people back to work and definitely not to promote the general welfare of the American people.

President Obama inherited an economy that even his predecessor said was heading for a meltdown. Obama’s stimulus package helped stabilize the economy. Republicans in Congress opposed a larger stimulus recommended by many economists, and, predictably, later blamed the President because his stimulus did not do “enough” for the economy.

Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed to more than 13,000 from a low of 6,547 in early 2009, shortly after President Obama took office.

Prompt action from the president saved the American auto industry and more than a million jobs around the country, thousands and thousands in Ohio alone. You may recall Mr. Romney’s advice for the auto industry: Let them fail.

Millions of Americans now have a chance for health care. Children and their families can no longer be refused health insurance because of real or imagined preexisting conditions and can no longer be dropped if they get sick. Young adults can now remain on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26.

Women are now entitled to the same pay as men for the same work.

Combat troops have been brought home from Iraq. Actions against Al-Qaeda and its supporters have been aggressive and highly productive. Osama Bin Laden and many of his top lieutenants have been brought to justice.

I suspect if George W. Bush had some of these accomplishments on his resume, his supporters would be measuring him for a spot on Mount Rushmore.

Merlyn Marten

Proctorville