About midsummer, I realized that I'm halfway through my college career and there are still no jobs in sight. As a first-year, I had fantasized about the recession conveniently ending sometime during my stint in college, giving birth to a vibrant economy that would sport enough jobs for myself and my peers. Now, there's nothing but talk of double-dipping, even from the president himself.

In recent speeches given in Illinois, President Barack Obama painted a pretty dire picture of a broken-down, jobless country. "There's no reason why we shouldn't put Americans back to work all across the country rebuilding America," he said, stating that he intends to beg Congress for a comprehensive job package in September. "All those folks who got laid off from construction because the economy went south or the housing bubble burst, they're dying for work. Contractors are willing to come in under budget and on time," he added.

Obama seemed disappointed in the recent debt-ceiling debacle, saying, "Now, I can't excuse the self-inflicted wound that was that whole debt debate. It shouldn't have happened the way it did. We shouldn't have gotten that close to the brink. It was inexcusable."

Rebuilding. Self-inflicted wounds. Under-budget. Could. Would. Should.

It's pretty hairy out there to hear it from Obama, and by all accounts, I believe the president's picture is an accurate one. But it's not the only picture available. To hear it from contenders for the Republican nomination, everything is A-O.K. and only headed upwards.

Just take a look at former Minnesota Governor and former Republican candidate Tim Pawlenty's economic growth plan. Along with "pro-business" measures like slashing taxes, removing regulations and reducing government involvement in the private sector, Pawlenty's plan stated an economic growth goal of 5 percent—a rate practically unheard of in the last century. But things like reality and rationale don't deter Republicans like Pawlenty, who maintain the position that America is exceptional.

To some Republicans, if you doubt America's ability to gallop straight out of a recession into an unprecedented economic boom, you're just anti-American. You have no faith in America, no vision for it, no hope. Frankly, you're cynical. And Republicans aren't.

In my view, it's this distinct lack of cynicism that will bolster support for Republicans in the upcoming election. Republican front-runner Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) view on the economy is just as drastically different from Obama's as Pawlenty's. In a recent speech given in Iowa, she expressed her view, saying, "It won't take that long [to repair the economy] if we send signals to the marketplace." Bachmann stated that the economy would begin to recover as soon as she became president.

There's something special behind a proclamation like that, and it isn't the world-weary realism that suffuses the speeches of Obama. It's something almost magical, faithful, the type of certainty that arises from something like religious belief. It is starry-eyed and full-steam-ahead, which perhaps best describes the Republican image of America, even in the current recession.

In September of last year, Bachmann remarked, "The American Dream isn't an idea of yesteryear, but rather a pursuit that must be reawakened. As reaffirmed in the Declaration of Independence, we are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. ... It is my wish that all people may be inspired to believe in the American Dream again."

The capitalization of "dream" is all Bachmann's, and it's revealing. To Bachmann, and to the Republican candidates who are currently racing against her, there isn't a dream that has some American qualities; there's an American Dream, an ideal we can all aspire to that is specifically for us and by us. Themes like these are a throwback to Obama's campaign of 2008, but revamped and repackaged to suit the right rather than the left.

For Obama, there are contractors willing to work for basically anything because the economy has continued to deteriorate, in part due to rifts in the American government. If you look around, you'll notice that Obama's vision—though not without its own brand of hope—is the one that most reflects reality, while Bachmann's is notably dreamy. Obama took hope to the ballot boxes last time, but this time around, it appears that Republicans plan to mount the platform of hope, dreams and good intentions, regardless of what they can deliver.