“By the way, when I get rid of Obamacare and I get rid of Dodd-Frank and I get rid of Sarbanes-Oxley, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to have any law or any regulation. It means I want to make sure it’s modern, it’s updated, it goes after the bad guys, but it also encourages the good guys.”—Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
First, presidents don’t “get rid” of legislation they don’t like. Congress has to repeal legislation (although, yes I realize that in some cases the president has some discretion in terms of the application of a given law). It is a pretty fundamental aspect of the structure of the US government. Romney is speaking as though he is running for Prime Minister is a parliamentary system.
Second, can this be any more platitudinous than this quote? Who is opposed to “modern” and “updated” legislation that “goes after the bad guys” whilst also “encourag[ing] the good guys”?
Granted, that second point is just how politicians speak (and my picking on it is somewhat gratuitous), but the first point is a pet peeve of mine: how can the American public make informed decisions about government if the people who aspire to serve in that government talk about it in nonsensical ways? At a minimum it would be nice if candidates for office spoke about government in a way that would give one the impression that they could pass an intro to American government course.
