Europe and the Election

Our next president will have a very important task: dealing with the looming disaster which is Europe. The problem is more than just the sovereign debt crisis, which has led to downgrades by bond rating services of the government bonds of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and other nations in the Eurozone, although that alone is bad enough.

What happens when (it is scarcely "if" anymore) Greece defaults on its sovereign debt? What happens when Spain, a much larger economy, defaults on its sovereign debt? Both nations today have unemployment rates exceeding 25%, and defaulting will make it almost impossible for these governments to attract bond investors. Already the rate these nations must pay on long-term debt to attract investors soaks up big chunks of government revenue. As the action by Moody's two months ago revealed, it is not just particular nations in Europe being affected, but rather the European Union itself.

Along with the fiscal disaster is the fast-growing problem of immigrants into Europe, particularly Muslims who are wholly out of sync with the cultural and legal traditions of European nations. These people are transforming many of the nations of Europe into an angry, anti-Semitic stew. This is not something which may happen; indeed, the development is proceeding at an alarming pace, combining native sentiments with Muslim immigrants.

Londonistan, a term coined by Melanie Phillips, is already threatening the stability of Britain. What happens when France -- a nuclear power like Britain, whose new socialist leader, Hollande, recently whined that extremists are destroying the notionally pacific principles of Islam -- brings Islamists into the government?

What happens when the hostility among nations (evident during German Chancellor Merkel's visit in early October to Greece, where she faced angry Greeks dressed up as Nazis) and separatism within nations (as demonstrated by the huge gains in Belgian municipal elections the same month) begin to rock the political stability within European nations, perhaps irrevocably?

The potential disaster of a complete meltdown of Europe will affect our nation in ways that ought to alarm all Americans. Any voter who thinks that the policies pursued by Obama can prevent disaster in Europe ought to soberly review the approach he has taken and how that will affect Europe over the next four years.

As a matter of fact, Obama shows no interest in Europe, and he has displayed that in a number of ways, among them speaking of "Polish death camps" and snubbing European leaders. He kowtows to Muslim monarchs, dismisses Muslim terrorism, and conceals the nature of radical Islam from his country. Rather than stand up for Western values and Judeo-Christian moral principles, Obama can be expected to urge European nations to abandon and apologize for the roots on which our nation and Europe have rested.

We already know the Obama economic plan when disaster strikes: government spending on borrowed dollars. That is precisely how nations like Greece and Spain got into their present distress. Obama seems in perfect harmony, too, with the new Socialist President Hollande of France, whose approach to economic distress is confiscatory taxes on the rich.

These are fundamental problems that Obama has in dealing with the certain and serious collapse of Europe. It is not just that Obama cannot see the world except through the lens of third-world Marxist rage; Obama and his advisers are simply too ignorant and too dumb to know what else to do.

Mitt Romney has built his career in the private sector on a profoundly clear understanding the inner workings of investments and business efficiencies. Romney knows more about private investments in the sovereign debt of nations than Obama will ever know. When Romney sits down with European leaders and discusses how to turn around grave economic danger, he will know what he is talking about.

Romney also has a reputation, borne out of his work to save the 2002 Winter Olympics, of being honest and fair. That, in fact, is how he succeeded. Those qualities -- intimate knowledge of investments and truthfulness in negotiations -- are precisely what are needed to correct the economic course of Europe.

Romney also would show respect for the political leaders of Europe and their nations. This would reflect not only his polite demeanor and general friendliness, but also his experience as an international business leader who knows how important good manners and respectfulness are in negotiations.

The stakes in this presidential election for our nation are great, but if Europe slides into chaos and collapse, it will affect our nation far more than most Americans realize. There are many reasons to elect Romney as our next president. Saving Europe should be pretty high on the list.