There was speculation over the last few weeks as to when Romney would choose his running mate. With headlines saying he was ready to announce his pick any day now, people wondered if he would announce his VP candidate earlier than usual in efforts to divert attention away from his tax returns and the Bain Capital fiasco. But with the Olympics right around the corner, an early draft pick was probably not the greatest of ideas (guess this explains why he hasn’t picked his right-hand-man just yet). A presidential candidate usually announces his running mate right before the party convention in efforts to create a great deal of buzz and excitement that hopefully lasts until Voting Day. Any major political announcement right before the Olympics could potentially just die short. According to some, the Olympic Games have the capability of bringing American politics to a hard stop. This could work in Romney’s favor, as any previous negative punches from the Democratic Party may be forgotten about, and any new smears might not make headline news – or may have to be put on hold and therefore have a chance of being outdated by the time the Olympic Games end. But one might wonder: could Presidential campaigning really go on a two-week hiatus?
MSNBC has already made clear it will be airing non-stop Olympic coverage until 6PM pretty much every day over the next two weeks. Already it looks like we’re therefore preparing for less politics; not to mention, pre-Olympic coverage leading up to the actual Olympics basically took over much of the media in this country. With Romney overseas and the Olympics now taking center stage (post-theater-shooting in Aurora, Colorado), politics could be in for a vacation. The negative campaigning has been overwhelming and voters want – practically need – a break from all the mudslinging. It’s time to focus on something a bit more positive for the next two weeks: passion for our country. It’s too bad nationalism like this knocks on our doors during events like the Olympics, but appears almost nonexistent when it comes to politics in this country.
The Senate and the House go on recess from August 6th to September 10th, so whatever isn’t hashed out next week will be put on hold for five weeks. Though the 2012 Summer Olympics are just about to be in full swing, whatever happens politically in the next week is extremely important. Not only is Romney looking to establish himself on an international level, time is ticking for Congress: We’ll only be one hundred days away from Election Day by the end of this weekend, and therefore Obama and Romney are headed towards the home stretch and truly need to kick it into high gear.
MSNBC has already made clear it will be airing non-stop Olympic coverage until 6PM pretty much every day over the next two weeks. Already it looks like we’re therefore preparing for less politics; not to mention, pre-Olympic coverage leading up to the actual Olympics basically took over much of the media in this country. With Romney overseas and the Olympics now taking center stage (post-theater-shooting in Aurora, Colorado), politics could be in for a vacation. The negative campaigning has been overwhelming and voters want – practically need – a break from all the mudslinging. It’s time to focus on something a bit more positive for the next two weeks: passion for our country. It’s too bad nationalism like this knocks on our doors during events like the Olympics, but appears almost nonexistent when it comes to politics in this country.
The Senate and the House go on recess from August 6th to September 10th, so whatever isn’t hashed out next week will be put on hold for five weeks. Though the 2012 Summer Olympics are just about to be in full swing, whatever happens politically in the next week is extremely important. Not only is Romney looking to establish himself on an international level, time is ticking for Congress: We’ll only be one hundred days away from Election Day by the end of this weekend, and therefore Obama and Romney are headed towards the home stretch and truly need to kick it into high gear.
As you said, the Olympics has certainly caused a slight decrease in political coverage...Not to mention, citizens care a great deal about sports, perhaps even more than they do about politics! While political coverage has slowed down a bit, one thing that hasn't changed is the appearance of campaign commercials from both presidential candidates, as well as commercials from other independent organizations. Take a look at my video blog, where I discuss the exorbitant amount of money that organizations are spending on campaign commercials: "Campaign ads: Aren't they costing a bit too much money?!"
ReplyDelete--Lauren