In May I wrote about the troubling homophobic bullying incident in which Mitt Romney was the ringleader when but a high school lad, back in 1965. My suggestion, and many others’, was that Romney’s inability (or unwillingness) to own up to his youthful misdeeds (most of us have done things as kids that we later regret, but some of us want to make amends) implies a lack of character befitting the leader of the free world.

Now it’s September, and the Republican National Convention has nominated Mitt Romney for president of the United States. His acceptance speech earned the lowest positive rating since 1996, when polling about nomination speeches began. See for yourselves:

Romney’s speech was full of pretty promises and dire criticism of the last four years. He draped lofty notions over a room full of demons.

He said, “I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour.” What he didn’t say is that Obama took office in the midst of the greatest recession this country had known since the Great Depression; that the surplus that President Clinton left was not only squandered by successor Republican George W. Bush’s administration, but that President Obama took charge at a time of record deficits.

He said, “Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose.” What he didn’t say is that he opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, nor did he once mention the men and women in our armed forces who are currently risking their lives in wars that were started not by President Obama but by his Republican predecessor.

He said, “[The America I lead] will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution.” What he didn’t say is that he does not believe that those rights extend to the LGBT community.

He said, “As president, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America’s first liberty: the freedom of religion.” What he didn’t say is that he supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and that he worships in a faith that was a major sponsor of the discriminatory Prop 8 in California, nor did he mention the alarming frequency with which religion is used to justify homophobia and bigotry.

Romney and his radically right-wing running mate, Ryan (say that juicy phrase ten times, fast), pose an enormous threat to the precarious progress we’ve made for LGBT rights and marriage equality under Obama. And we won’t even dwell here in Ryan’s land of lying. Suffice it to say that even the notably right-leaning, partisan Fox News called Ryan’s acceptance speech “dazzling, deceiving, and distracting.” (In the spirit of fairness, let me add that this piece was written by a rare progressive voice on the network, Sally Kohn, but Fox News did give the air to her commentary about Ryan.)

Romney has said, “When I am President, I will preserve the defense of marriage act (DOMA) and I will fight for a federal amendment defining marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman.” The Human Rights Campaign has given the running mate, Paul Ryan, a 0 percent rating for his thoroughly anti-LGBT stance.

Tonight (September 6), Barack Obama will accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for the second time. It is only if Obama is reëlected that we can count on the following list of his administration’s accomplishments for LGBT Americans to remain intact:

• Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation or gender identity
• Signed the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a comprehensive overhaul of America’s health care system that will hold insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee greater patient choice, and enhance the quality of care for all Americans; LGBT Americans are disproportionately uninsured, and this law will provide access to affordable coverage and protection from insurance companies that deny coverage for pre-existing conditions
• Lifted the discriminatory ban on entry to the United States based on HIV status
• Ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to guarantee medical decision making and visitation rights to LGBT couples
• Signed into law the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010
• Directed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court and declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional
• Expanded the Family Medical Leave Act to ensure that LGBT parents and partners can take leave from work to care for their child, parent, or spouse—a right afforded to any other family
• Removed a common barrier to safe housing by adding gender identity and expression in the Fair Housing Act
• Led a successful international effort to gain recognition of LGBT organizations at the United Nations
• Reversed an inexcusable U.S. position by signing the United Nations Declaration on Gay Rights, which condemns violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide
• Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
• Changed State Department policy so that transgender Americans can more easily obtain passports that reflect their true gender and ensure that same-sex married couples can use their legally married name on official State Department documents
• Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the federal government
• Endorsed the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 to provide full partnership benefits to federal employees
• Formed the Interagency Council on Bullying Prevention and convened the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and launched Stopbullying.gov, a website with resources designed to assist bullied youth and their advocates—including specific information regarding LGBT bullying
• Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept LGBT relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way and urging transgender Americans to identify their true gender
• Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans, including several transgender appointees— the first president ever to do so
• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Billie Jean King and the late Harvey Milk
• Department of Health and Human Services announces an award to Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) to establish the nation’s first LGBT seniors resource center
• Sent an administration official to the Senate to testify in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the first time any official of any administration has done so
• Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history, and after eight years of silence under the Bush administration, resumed the tradition of issuing Presidential Pride proclamations
• Department of Health and Human Services awards largest grant ever to an LGBT organization, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center—funds go toward combating discrimination against LGBT youth in the foster care system
• President Obama, Vice President Biden, DNC, and White House staffs record “It Gets Better” videos
• Department of Labor clarified definition of “son and daughter” under the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that same-sex parents can receive parental rights to family leave regardless of legal or biological relationship
• President Obama’s FY 2012 Budget increases funding for LGBT community priorities including anti-bullying and safe schools, suicide prevention, and HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and access to medication”

And last, but not least, the president made history on May 9, when he said, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

The choice in this election could not be clearer for LGBT Americans and their allies. If we are to continue on the march toward LGBT/civil/human rights, we must reëlect President Obama. If we are determined to leave a better, more just society for our children and grandchildren, if we hope for the day that they can say to their own children and grandchildren, “Can you believe there was a time when it was illegal for your grandmas to get married?” then we must do everything in our power to make sure that January 20, 2013, is not Inauguration Day for the new Bully-in-Chief, but for four more years of Barack Obama as president. Forward!

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