Our economy has been on the
fritz for a while now, and our current President has done little to help the
situation. This sounds like a recipe for disaster for President Obama now that
we’re approaching election time, as one would think the Republican nominee would
hold a fairly large lead over Obama in the polls thanks to the current economic
situation. This does not however seem to be the case, as Romney still trails
behind Obama in some of the key states needed to win his spot in the White
House. There are a few reasons for why this seems to be happening, and both
Romney and the American people may be to blame.
Romney’s campaign thus far appears to be somewhat of a snooze fest. While Obama works his social media tactics, continues to capture audiences with his speech presentation talents, and appears to have a larger young-voter following, Romney hopes to enter the Oval Office by repeatedly blaming Obama for our awful economy. This position from the GOP-ers can be taken as somewhat negative, and could use a little spicing-up if Romney is actually serious about winning this election. Perhaps Romney should tell us why and how he wants to do what he wants to do, instead of just saying he’s going to do it (i.e. tax cuts, getting rid of the deficit, the importance of a smaller government, etc.).
When in the public’s eye it is impossible to please everyone. What does a person do when it seems half the people want one thing from you and the other half want something else? It clear the American people do not know what they want. But it is unclear where to draw the line between too vague and too specific when it comes to the campaign trail. It seems Romney is at this very fork in the road at this point in the 2012 political race. Running his campaign along the lines of freeing America from the reign of Obama has been seen as smart politics by some, giving Romney a fairly good chance at taking home a victory come this November. Yet, this calls for a rather vague, potentially boring campaign since any specifics in his platform would be a clear target for his Democratic opponent.
It has been said, “The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.” But it must also be noted, the bigger the risk the bigger possibility for failure. Simply judging by history Mitt Romney is not the biggest risk taker, suggesting he lives by the saying, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” For anyone who refuses to take risks, there is a chance the public will perceive you as being sort of bland. Before Obama uses this as the bases for his next negative advertisement punch at Romney, trying to define this Republican by something he is not, Romney has a choice to make and some pros and cons to consider: take a risk by taking a clearer stance on important political issues, or risk being viewed as somewhat generic.
Romney’s campaign thus far appears to be somewhat of a snooze fest. While Obama works his social media tactics, continues to capture audiences with his speech presentation talents, and appears to have a larger young-voter following, Romney hopes to enter the Oval Office by repeatedly blaming Obama for our awful economy. This position from the GOP-ers can be taken as somewhat negative, and could use a little spicing-up if Romney is actually serious about winning this election. Perhaps Romney should tell us why and how he wants to do what he wants to do, instead of just saying he’s going to do it (i.e. tax cuts, getting rid of the deficit, the importance of a smaller government, etc.).
When in the public’s eye it is impossible to please everyone. What does a person do when it seems half the people want one thing from you and the other half want something else? It clear the American people do not know what they want. But it is unclear where to draw the line between too vague and too specific when it comes to the campaign trail. It seems Romney is at this very fork in the road at this point in the 2012 political race. Running his campaign along the lines of freeing America from the reign of Obama has been seen as smart politics by some, giving Romney a fairly good chance at taking home a victory come this November. Yet, this calls for a rather vague, potentially boring campaign since any specifics in his platform would be a clear target for his Democratic opponent.
It has been said, “The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.” But it must also be noted, the bigger the risk the bigger possibility for failure. Simply judging by history Mitt Romney is not the biggest risk taker, suggesting he lives by the saying, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” For anyone who refuses to take risks, there is a chance the public will perceive you as being sort of bland. Before Obama uses this as the bases for his next negative advertisement punch at Romney, trying to define this Republican by something he is not, Romney has a choice to make and some pros and cons to consider: take a risk by taking a clearer stance on important political issues, or risk being viewed as somewhat generic.
Another key for Romney will be separating himself from George Bush. In addition to all of the correct reasons you mentioned for why Obama is still leading despite a bad economy, perhaps the biggest reason is that a majority of Americans still believe George Bush is to blame for our current mess. That's the next card the Obama Campaign pulls after they are finished vulturizing Romney's Bain record. Needless to say, he better do a better job preparing for this one than he did the last one.
ReplyDeleteSean, thanks for the comment. While Romney may not have done everything right in everyone’s eyes thus far, it is still rather early to make any definitive decisions on where he will stand come November. I agree that most political candidates could benefit from separating themselves from other politicians, as standing on your own is an important characteristic to good leadership; Romney is no exception here. Romney’s tactics thus far have been on the safe side, and perhaps some risk-taking could put him in front of Obama by Election Day. His “vagueness” may however be a learned attribute; I refer largely to the so called blunder of George Romney, Mitt Romney’s father, who ran for president in 1968 but did not get the Republican nomination because of his detailed “honesty” about his experience in Vietnam. That being said, Mr. Obama is far from perfect and I’d be hesitant to use the word “correct” to describe many of his political moves.
DeleteThere is no doubt that Romney is positioning himself as an economic fix-it man, the answer to the economic problems that Obama has not been able to solve. But Romney is embroiled in his own economic controversies at the moment (tax returns, Bain Capital, etc.) and it's honestly difficult to believe that he will be able to rebuild America's economy since he can't seem to iron his own problems...
ReplyDeleteSee more @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67wPKtf_qWo&feature=g-upl
Elizabeth – Thanks for reading and sharing some of your thoughts. I really enjoyed your video. You seem fairly passionate about this topic, and I can definitely see where you are coming from. I’ve dedicated a good portion of my most recent blog post to this subject. Check it out: Tax Returns, Precedents, & Morality http://beltwaybabbles.blogspot.com/2012/07/tax-returns-precedents-morality.html
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