January third is fast approaching, no not the second recovery day for those holiday hangovers, the day when the primary votes begin for the Republican candidate who will go on to run against President Obama. Anyone who has been following the debates and campaign trail of the Republican candidates has seen it’s been an almost circus like spectacle, and the final weeks before the election are proving to be no different. With the deadline drawing near candidates such as Mit Romney and Newt Gingrich are trying desperately to come out on top whereas candidates such as Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann are desperately trying to rekindle the fire they once had in the early days of the campaign trail. Anyone who has been following the campaign can see the humor and sadness in what has become modern day politics.
For starters, Rick Perry attacked Mr. Romney about a passage on health care in a book recently published by Mr. Romney. To defend himself Mr. Romney made a mock bet with Mr. Perry for $10,000. Mr. Perry quickly declined saying he was not “the betting type”. Such a move has potentially backfired on Mr. Romney and could hurt him in the eyes of middle and working class Americans. As a matter of fact many Democrats have seized the opportunity to use Mr. Romney’s comment against him, pointing out that what may seem a miniscule amount to the Massachusetts governor comprises a rather large amount of the average Americans salary. Other comments from Romney would seem to be distancing him from the average American. Democrats have gone as far as launching a website titled “10kbet.com”. The website lists things that can be bought with $10,000. For many of us college students $10,000 dollars would be a blessing, considering the high costs of one of those top colleges which many of us would love to attend in order to gain the position of our dreams, perhaps a software engineer. Another move that has left Mr. Romney appearing out of touch with the American public and more on par with millionaires was a response he gave to a heckler during a debate in Iowa. Mr. Romney responded by saying “Corporations are people too”.
Another strategy being incorporated by the Republican candidates is to label the two frontrunners Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney as one person. Where Mr. Romney has shown his distance from the average Gingrich has been criticized for his marital track. Many of the candidates haven’t hesitated to point out Gingrich’s past infidelities in an attempt to challenge his character. Mr. Gingrich has made some surprising moves to counter this strategy from his opponents. When moderators at a debate threw Gingrich a challenge about his personal life, Mr. Gingrich made a very surprising move; he humbly responded to the question stating that “he has had to ask god for forgiveness” for his tattered past. Perhaps Mr. Gingrich’s eyes have been opened due to the realization that the end of the race is fast approaching and the Republicans may be looking at a photo finish. By keeping face Mr. Gingrich may hold his lead and find himself as the candidate for the 2012 Presidential Election.
However you feel and whoever comes to be the candidate do yourself a favor, don’t give into slapstick politics. Decide on the candidate who will best help our country. Look deeper into what the issues are and who is willing to make some serious change through responsible policy making and compromise.