Americans elected a stranger as president in 2008.
They chose someone with no background, no accomplishments and nothing but vague promises dressed in lofty language. Those promises were to move America in a different direction.
But it was clear he intended to move toward governing like the socialist nations of Europe. For that reason, radio personality Rush Limbaugh famously said he hoped the stranger would fail at implementing his agenda.
However, the stranger has managed, with the help of a liberal Congress, to move in the direction he planned, with predictable results: more unemployment, more debt, less hope for the future.
Four years later, millions regret their choice.
But last week in Tampa, Mitt Romney, a man with a long record of accomplishment in the private and public sectors, became the standard bearer for the Republican Party.
Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, understand how the economy works and know what to do to fix it inasmuch as the government can contribute to that end.
Uneducated people believe the government can make the economy work or not work at its whim.
Educated people know that the private sector creates wealth and jobs.
They know that the promises of politicians to constantly shower people with entitlements were hollow easy to make and impossible to fulfill.
The strangers approach was to create a new, unsustainable entitlement, further threatening the nations fiscal health.
Conservatives are natural optimists, always betting on the American spirit to produce peace and prosperity, regardless of the obstacles government puts in place.
But even that optimism has been dampened. Conservative author Mark Steyn has written a book titled "After America," arguing persuasively that we have already reached the tipping point where the debt is too great and the will to address it is too weak.
Arguably, that point is reached when there are more consumers of government largesse than producers who provide the wherewithal.
Steyn may be premature but it is difficult to argue that we are nearing a downfall of Grecian proportions.
Meanwhile, a new movie, titled "2016," shows that even what people thought they knew about the stranger is bogus.
Romney faces an uphill battle. The current regime is well-financed and ruthless. Along with its media lapdogs, it will do virtually anything to retain power.
But this is not 2008. Americans then had a choice between a stranger who promised great things and a lackluster legacy Republican who did not excite voters.
Today, the stranger has a record and there is an alternative Americans can respect, admire and trust.
Romney has an understanding of the past and a vision of the future. The stranger has only the shopworn ideas and methods of the past.
Florida will be a key to the election. But Florida voters will have to decide whether they want someone who will lead effectively and work for all Americans, or a stranger who has shown what he can do -- and what he cant.
Lloyd Brown was in the newspaper business nearly 50 years, beginning as a copy boy and retiring as editorial page editor of the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. After retirement he served as speech writer for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
