After the Republican National Convention and Gov. Mitt Romney's acceptance speech, President Barack Obama criticized the Republican's methods to cure our ailing country by saying that it contained the same old ideas that you could have watched on TV when it was black and white. ("Fiery Obama embarks on march to the Dem convention," Tribune, Sept. 2.)

This demonstrates the basic problem with Obama's apparent lack of understanding of America. The things that have made this country so great have not changed. The principles are old because they are the same today as they have been all along. They have been proven over and over again as this country grew to become the envy of all the world.

It is clear that Obama does not recognize that limited government, family and community values, a strong free-enterprise system and individual freedoms and responsibilities are still what are needed to bring America off its knees and back into a vibrant economy. A look at Obama's experience should have shown us that he lacks this understanding.

More of the changes that Obama is trying to push will not move us forward; they will take us further back.

Bill Barton

West Jordan