Four years ago when I was a sophomore in high school, I volunteered at the Oakland County Democratic Party offices in Pontiac, Mich. Although I could not vote in the upcoming election, I was a fervent supporter of then-candidate Barack Obama and spreading his message of hope and change to voters in Metro Detroit. His message of economic recovery hit home for me, as my father was an employee facing the perils of a struggling automotive industry and everyday he was unsure of whether or not he would be employed.

Yet as the past four years have gone by under an Obama presidency, I am somewhat disappointed in the candidate I was once so excited about. As a man who preached hope and change and labeled himself as the catalyst necessary to get Washington back on track, it seems he fell victim to the politics that have plagued our Capitol for so many years.

He has come across to Americans as weak against a gridlocked Congress. He failed to take charge against Washington’s most radical, such as House Speaker John Boehner, during some of Washington’s most contentious votes, including last summer during the debt ceiling debates. The president compromised what he wanted in the final agreement too much in order to get Republicans to support it, leaving Boehner with “98 percent” of what he wanted in the final agreement.

If you asked me who I would be voting for in the upcoming presidential election at this time last year, I would tell you I would be voting for any Republican candidate because I wanted change in the White House. When Mitt Romney announced his candidacy, I thought I had found my favorite. He seemed excited, welcoming and more moderate than other Republicans. His background in business and politics felt like the perfect combination of experience for a candidate during a time of both recession and a tense Washington political climate.

Yet the more I learn about this man, the less I want to vote for him.

Romney strongly believes the automotive industry should not have been bailed out in 2009. Although many were against the bailout because they viewed it as too much government intervention in a capitalist economy, the automotive bailout was necessary to keep Chrysler and General Motors from going bankrupt. If these companies went bankrupt, many more workers — especially Michiganians — would have been left unemployed, ultimately killing the base of Michigan’s economy. Although he was raised in Michigan, taking this position in the upcoming election most likely will keep him from winning our state.

Romney’s conservative stance on social issues most likely will cause a loss among young voters. He supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman, while Obama announced his support of gay marriage last week.

A public opinion poll by the Pew Research Center shows 47 percent of Americans now are in favor of same-sex marriage, while 43 percent oppose. Additionally, an ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 63 percent of young Americans in favor of the president’s position.

Although this election most likely will be decided on the basis of what Americans consider to be more important issues, such as the economy, social issues could be what sways undecided voters on election day toward one candidate or the other, and with a new majority now in support of gay marriage, especially among younger voters, social issues could help Obama gain a slight edge over Romney.

Romney also is facing difficulties in attempting to connect with the average, middle-class American considering his significant wealth. Obviously, Romney should not be punished because he has worked hard to become so affluent, but this is causing his disconnect with the base of his party. In an attempt to relate to struggling Americans, Ann Romney, Mitt’s wife, told stories of their financial difficulties in college, saying the two had to cash in some of their stock portfolio as a source of income.

This story is quintessential in highlighting how disconnected this family is from average Americans. Many college students, myself included, are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot utilize a stock portfolio as the means for income.

I guess this means I’ve hit a wall in the upcoming presidential election and remain undecided. Although I’m disappointed in the Obama administration, I can’t imagine a Romney administration would go any further than only working to repeal any Democratic legislation of the past four years.

Alex McClung is the opinion writer at The State News and an international relations and journalism sophomore. Reach him at mcclung3@msu.edu.