As it appears Romney IS now the inevitable GOP nominee, I believe THIS is the address we MUST hear on day 1.

Thank you and good afternoon.

My name is Mitt Romney and I am the President of the United States of America.

There are some things we need to get straight and the sooner the better.

Let me start…Now.

This great nation is a mess. Our economy, our government, employment, our debt. It’s all a mess.

This is something which needs to be made crystal clear. I did not inherit this mess. I have chosen to correct it. The time for blame is over and the mess is what it is regardless of how or who created it. I ran for President and was elected to this office to correct the problems not to blame others for them.

It’s a tremendous undertaking. It will not be fast. It will not be easy.

But rest assured, we will begin today to take the appropriate steps to make things right again.

The first and most important step we can take in this regard is to start getting government out of the way. Our future will be built exactly the way our great past was built: On the ingenuity of, on the creativity of and with the hard work of the private sector. If government stands in the way of what made our nation great, we can never reclaim our greatness.

To begin this task, I have already assembled 12 of the greatest business minds in America. I have charged them with identifying the 10 most important things which must occur to allow small businesses to grow and succeed.

I have also assembled a Tax Team to restructure our tax code. That team is charged with reducing the tax rates, closing loop holes and increasing revenues across the board.

Both these teams have 60 days after which time they will come together and over a period of 30 days, no more, put their ideas together in a workable fashion.

At that point, representatives of both teams will meet with me, my cabinet and the majority and minority leaders of the House and the Senate. This meeting will NOT take place behind closed doors. It will be open to the press and televised live on CSPAN.

I will then direct Congress to act and act quickly upon those recommendations. All of them. They will have 60 days to write and pass laws specifically designed to get government out of the way and to allow businesses to grow, expand, and to become successful. If that means the elimination of government agencies or regulations…So be it…It shall be done.

Next.

President Kennedy once issued an enormous challenge. He said we should put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth by the end of the decade. We did it.

I too have a challenge.

I believe we, as a nation, can become energy independent by the time 10 years has passed. I have directed my Energy Secretary to work in concert with the Secretary of the Interior to produce a plan to, at a minimum, double our oil production within 2 years and double it again within the next 3 years.

For far too long, government regulations and agencies have stalled any progress regarding the production of domestic energy. No more. Beginning tomorrow, we will dissolve the EPA.

Along with new drilling both onshore and off, we will begin immediately to build refineries. Technology now exists to make these refineries and our oil wells safer and more productive than ever before and it’s high time we take advantage of that technology.

I am also directing the Keystone XL Pipeline to be built. As part of that directive, Nebraska will find an appropriate and safe route through their state for that pipeline. This is a project which will create jobs and will make our friends in Canada, our most vital ally in energy.

We will no longer be sinking YOUR money into green-energy research, but we will make the business climate productive and open for those, in the private sector, to pursue cost-effective energy alternatives. We will clear the way for private industry to invest their own money and innovative ideas into what we hope will be solutions.

We believe that when private industry is unleashed, great things will happen; and when you develop such alternative energy resources which are cost effective on the open market, people will beat a path to your door.

Drill Baby Drill is no longer a bumper sticker slogan. Today, it becomes the law of the land, and, within the next 10 years, we will become energy independent.

No longer can our nation proceed without a budget. I am directing Congress to formulate a budget which will cut spending, eliminate waste, shrink the debt and pass it through both the House and the Senate. This will take a restructuring of entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

There will be those who don’t like it – but they need to ask themselves if they want those things in the future or if they don’t. To leave them as they are today is a sure recipe for disaster. They are, as they now stand, unsustainable. Reforming those entities can and must occur and now or they will, certainly and within just a few years, cease to exist at all.

I am also calling upon Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution. Put it together. Put it together quickly and get it out to the states for ratification. Just as we expect individuals to live within their means, we, as the care takers of the people’s money must do so as well.

Clearly, this is not all which needs doing at the domestic level but, it’s a darn good start. Make no mistake it is a start and not the end but there are other things which must be addressed.

On the world stage…The apology tour has come to an abrupt halt.

The United States is the greatest nation on earth and while we have not, over our history, gotten everything right, we have striven to right the wrongs and will continue to do so but I, as the President of the United States, will not apologize for being a great nation.

Nor will I apologize to allies to whom our backs have been turned. Apologies are empty without actions and I pledge to our allies that our actions WILL speak louder than any apology ever could. We know who our friends are we hope they can forgive our errors. Now, more than ever before, we need our allies, our friends and they need us. Let us work together for a better future not only for our nations but for the world. We know you have our backs and you must know we have yours too.

It is also time for the United Nations to straighten up. You have 1 year to make the changes necessary. Get your house in order. End the corruption. Become an advocate for freedom rather than a beggar of peace through appeasement. If you can’t clean your house in a year, we are OUT. No longer will you get one red cent from the United States of America and we will encourage our allies in the free world to cut off your financing as well.

Trust me when I tell you that if you fail in your mission to clean up the U.N. not only will you find yourselves without our financial assistance but you will also find yourselves looking for a new building in a different country.

To OUR enemies and those of our friends…YOU are now on notice. Poke at us our our allies with a sharp stick and we will, along with our allies strike back with a hammer. Attack us or our allies and you WILL be attacked. This administration will always seek the advice and consent of congress for any military action but make no mistake, our days of leading from behind are over. Leaders lead from the front and we will be leaders.

For terrorists and those who harbor them, the time for diplomacy is over. You have proven through your actions that your word is worthless. Attack us, our military or our allies and you have declared war. By the way, I am issuing orders that our rules of engagement be changed. From this point on, under my presidency, the military will handle our wars. Gone are the days when our military actions are run by politicians and executed for political expediency.

We will no longer publicize withdrawal dates or intentions. Worry over the possibility of collateral damage is no longer our 1^st priority. It took us 10 years to find and kill bin Laden and we will find you too. Gitmo is open for business but the soccer field is closed. Those held there will eat what they’re given. We will abide by the Geneva Convention but will not, under any circumstances, go one single step beyond.

Despots around the world, you are also on notice. Fire on your own people and you can expect to be fired upon by those who believe in freedom. Your inhumane and murderous actions stop today or you will wish they had.

Again, this is a darn good start but it is only a start. We will turn the ship of state around and again become the light of freedom and liberty for the world to see.

I will direct that immigration be reformed. It should not take 5, 10, or 20 years for those who wish to become United States citizens to do so. However, if you are here now, without documentation, it’s time for you to go home and we will assist your travels.

I will ask those states along our borders most affected by illegal immigration to formulate a plan to close the borders. I will also direct your new Attorney General to cease and desist any and all legal action against those states currently being sued over their immigration policies. It has become clear that the federal government is incapable of the job and so, individual states are welcomed to the table of ideas.

The American Dream is alive and the ability to make those dreams come true does NOT rest in Washington. The power of the American Dream lives in the hearts and souls of each and every American and in those who, by legal means, wish to become American Citizens.

As your President I will not bow to foreign leaders nor will I attempt to appease our enemies.

As your President, I am not here to fundamentally change America. I am here to restore our fundamental principles which I believe will return our nation to greatness. As your President, I will not start campaigning tomorrow for the 2016 election. This administration’s actions will be our campaign and our results will be the gauge of success. If you are better in 4 years than you are today, we will ask for your vote again.

As YOUR President I will not sign into law any bill which has not been read and thoroughly vetted before it has passed in congress. Before tonight’s ball, I will sign an executive order making one that became law in that manner null and void. Obamacare will be gone before Ann and I dance our first dance as President and First Lady tonight.

There is no sense in being progressive if the progress you are making is running at full speed toward an abyss. Restoring the principles of the founders, vesting more power in the states, empowering the people rather than the government and removing the government imposed blockades which stifle innovation, growth, investment, research, development and the creativity of the private and small business sector is the sort of progress to which THIS administration is dedicated.

Government can NOT make this country great again but we CAN get out of the way of those who can and will.

The American people.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.