“I supported Barack Obama in 2008 because I liked what he had to say,” Stanton, who served in Congress from 1971 to 1977, wrote in a column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “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.”
Stanton – who served the Cleveland City Council from 1959 until 1970, including as council president from 1964 to 1970 – wrote that four years ago, 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,” Stanton wrote. “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.”
