Mitt Romney asked this question during his acceptance of the Republican nomination for President. The answer is a resounding “yes” for Asian Americans who are concerned about discrimination, inclusion and access to government funding, technical assistance and support for the community.
As someone who has worked with four Presidential administrations over the past 20 years, I can tell you that Asian Americans have made more progress in the last four years under President Obama than we did in the previous eight years under President Bush. Of course Asian Americans, like other Americans, were badly hit by the collapse of the economy under President Bush’s watch. But President Obama’s policies stemmed the free fall, and unemployment rates for Asian Americans have begun to improve.
Importantly for Asian Americans, President Obama really understands the need to ensure that the community had real access to the full resources and assistance of the federal government. Asian Americans are no longer invisible to our nation’s policy makers. From his appointments to his rejuvenation of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to policies that seriously consider the needs of our community, his Administration is working every day to open up opportunities and improve the lives of Asian Americans.
For those who believe that elections don’t matter, I can tell you from my front row seat they really do. I will be giving you several reasons over the next few days why Asian Americans need to make sure that President Obama is re-elected.