Tens of millions of people all across this nation tuned in last week to watch Republicans make their case against the failed economic policies of President Obama at the Republican National Convention and they succeeded immensely. This election is not about the lesser of two evils, it is about choosing between two very different ideologies, one of which promoting government dependency, and the other promoting independency and self-reliance. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan have the economic vision to move this country forward and they laid out that plan last week alongside many other notable Republican leaders.

Mia Love, a Republican candidate for Congress in Utah, who happens to be an African American woman, gave an electrifying speech about the importance of saving America from President Obama’s failed policies. She spoke of how during the many tough times in her life she did not depend on the government to give her free help, but to do what it took to earn success in her own right. This nation’s economy is built on small businesses with big ideas, not government trying to mediate every individual’s life. The America she knows and fights for is a nation where every child can look at impossible ideas and believe in their heart that they can accomplish something great, which is exactly what she and Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who spoke, have done. Success comes from achievement, not from rewarding mediocrity.

Our hopeful next First Lady, Ann Romney, spoke about the tremendous unconditional love between herself and her husband Mitt Romney. Too often, Mitt Romney is misconstrued as a talking head with no emotion, and no sense of reality, but Ann Romney’s speech told a story not told about Mitt Romney, a story that showed him as a loving husband, and a caring father. Too often Mitt Romney is misconstrued as someone that never struggled, and Ann told stories of how she and Mitt struggled throughout their lives in ways that every parent could relate to. She spoke not of a storybook marriage, but of a real marriage, with times of hardship and pain; founded on the principle of dealing with problems and moving forward together rather than giving up. Ann Romney is a tough fighter, having raised five children while suffering from multiple sclerosis and breast cancer. She would not have been able to make it through those dark, tough times without the intense love of her husband Mitt Romney.

Vice president candidate Paul Ryan spoke of his Medicare plan that will put our country back on track so we can realistically address our national debt, which has surpassed $16 trillion just as the Democrats began celebrating Barack Obama’s “success” this week in North Carolina. The Medicare debate is one this country needs, one Romney and Ryan want and a debate Romney and Ryan will win. I will not go into details about that in this column; however, please contact me and I will happily explain it and its contrasts to ObamaCare to you. Paul Ryan is the intellectual leader of the Republican Party. His masterful skills interpreting budgets and his ability to produce long-term solutions rather than short-term solutions have helped him win his seat in Congress in a Democrat district by large margins. Politicians that think in the long-term rather than the short-term are hard to come by. Nearly one of six Americans is in poverty, and this president thinks he has been successful? 23 million unemployed and underemployed Americans and Democrats call this a successful administration? Without a change in leadership, how would the next four years be any different from the last four years?

Academy Award Winner Clint Eastwood spoke of how excited the nation was in 2008 when Obama was elected. Mr. Eastwood said, “I thought this was great. Everybody was crying. Oprah was crying, and I was even crying. I have not cried that hard since I found out there are 23 million unemployed people in this country, and that is something to cry for because that is a national disgrace. This administration hasn’t done enough to cure that and their interests are not strong enough and now it may be time for someone else to come along and solve the problem.” He reminded us that we Americans own this country, that politicians are employees of ours, and that regardless of what party or ideology you identify yourself as, if you have an employee that is not doing their job, you have to let them go.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave an inspiring speech focused around the central theme that Barack Obama has failed. It says a lot about President Obama’s leadership if the happiest you have been in the past four years was when you voted for him. Americans need and deserve hope. Americans need and deserve change. Under President Obama, Americans have not become any more hopeful for the future, and the changes have not been for the better. President Obama made grandiose promises that sounded great in speeches worded specifically with political rhetoric, but he did not keep those promises. Romney has just one promise for the American People; he is going to make things better for you and your family. Romney and Ryan represent realistic leadership; they are not promising to get the $16 trillion debt eliminated in one year, it has to be a long-term process, but they can get our deficit under control now, which is what Romney and Ryan intend on doing.

Daniel Harrison is chairman of the Fresno State College Republicans. You can follow him on Twitter at­

@GOPDaniel. You can visit the Fresno State College Republicans on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CSUFCR.