The Issues Are Now Clear for the Presidential Election

Big government or small government? Raise taxes on the rich or decrease government spending?

Looking toward November’s presidential election, both the Democrats and Republicans camps have clearly staked their positions.

As the economy remains sluggish, where do you lead the U.S. as it loses its confidence as the only superpower? There is a big disagreement between the two camps, and we are watching the discourse closely.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive candidate for the Republican party, has chosen House Budget Committee chairman and advocate of cutting government spending, Congressman Paul Ryan, 42 years old, as his vice presidential running mate. The aim is to make their differences stand out compared to the pair from the Democratic Party who push for tax increases on the wealthy.

Mr. Ryan is known as a young financial affairs authority. As the Budget Committee chairman, he brought a showdown against the Obama administration when he submitted a budget deficit reduction plan that would decrease the government’s annual expenditures by $5 trillion over the next 10 years.

He is also well-received by the tea party, a fiscally conservative grassroots movement that pushes for small government.

Pairing with Mr. Ryan, who is so popular among conservatives, is a strategy to dramatically shift the dialogue.

Economic difficulties continue for the Obama administration as the unemployment rate remains higher than 8 percent. Nonetheless, Mr. Romney’s campaign efforts don’t seem to garner support or excitement.

However, Mr. Ryan’s appointment is a “wager” for the moderate conservatism of Mr. Romney.

In Mr. Ryan’s deficit reduction plan, there are drastic cuts in health insurance expenses for seniors and issues that the middle class may strongly resist. There is a chance they could lose their support base because some hate these stances.

The Democrats quickly criticized them and turned the table, saying that they would create “new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors.”

Also, neither Romney nor Ryan has much of a track record concerning diplomacy and security.

Mr. Obama has appeal in the accomplishment of killing Osama Bin Laden, who was running the international terrorist organization al-Qaida.

So far Mr. Romney’s strong positions against Iran’s nuclear program and his policy against China stand out.

The concern is whether the hawks that supported former President Bush return to their diplomatic tactics, and the U.S. returns to unilateralism or not.

Policy concerning Japan is basically silent. We hope things will be made clear throughout the campaign.