With Mitt Romney about 300 votes away from officially clinching the GOP nomination, attentions have turned to his probable fight against Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election. Although each candidate has both merits and faults, the experience and successes Obama has attained in his first term as president have better qualified him to maintain the position than the minimal experience Romney has obtained as a one term governor.

As in any election, both campaign strategies will feature a large amount of credit claiming. With so much economic uncertainty, voters will fixate on the economic successes and failures of both candidates. According to the United States GDP Growth Rate study, during Obama’s first term as president the nation has experienced continuous economic growth since July 2009 [Trading Economics]. According to he United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States added two hundred thousand jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent. April was the seventh consecutive month in which the United States created at least one hundred thousand jobs. The continued economic growth and the steady decline of the unemployment rate have come when most needed, and both are a credit to Obama’s ability to handle the nation’s economy.

One of Romney’s greatest strengths in the upcoming elections is his past economic success while Governor of Massachusetts. When he took office, the state had a budget gap of almost $3 billion, which he was able to eliminate in his four years in office without raising the sales tax or the income tax. Although both candidates have had certain successes, Obama’s occurred on a national level. If Romney is elected president, his economic policies will vary greatly from those currently in place. A sudden change in economic policy is an unnecessary risk for an economy in an upward trend.

In regards to foreign affairs, Obama is significantly more experienced. In Dec. 2011 Obama officially ended America’s occupation in Iraq, one that has cost 4,487 lives and lasted nine years. Along with pulling out of Iraq, Obama has created a timetable outlining the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by 2014. His biggest foreign success was the death of Osama bin Laden. In May 2011, Obama ordered Seal Team Six to kill the very man who had eluded capture for nine years and had orchestrated the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Sept. 2001. Despite Romney’s speeches on foreign affairs, Obama has a record that Romney can’t compete with.

Although his term in office as Governor was relatively successful, Romney does not have the political experience needed to navigate the treacherous political and economic conditions currently faced by the United States. Turbulent foreign affairs and domestic issues regarding immigration laws and gay rights will accompany the uncertain economy as key issues the president will face during the next four years, and it is imperative they are handled by an experienced politician.

America’s economy is growing, American troops are coming home as The United States begins to pull out of the Middle East. Obama has had success in areas Romney has no experience in and has proven himself a worthy contender of Romney’s economic knowledge and skill. When America needed a strong leader, Obama showed himself beyond competent. Obama should be reelected as president to further American progress in all areas, be it economic or social development.