The stage is set for November’s presidential election. With Rick Santorum pulling himself out of competition for a presidential nomination last week, Mitt Romney has firmly grabbed hold of the reigns and, now, only awaits August’s Republican National Convention to make his bid for the presidency against Barack Obama official.
While Romney seemed to be the frontrunner throughout the Republican primary, candidates such as Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul provided at least some viable competition to steal the nomination from the former Massachusetts governor. The primary, though, proved to be filled less with intelligent, productive discussions about the future of our nation and more with political antics that supplied Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert with more material than they knew what to do with. While there was a fair share of mudslinging coming from each of the campaign teams, it seemed that most of the damage each of the candidates suffered was from self-inflicted wounds stemming from numerous foot-in-mouth moments.
So, what will these months leading up to November’s election hold in store for the candidates? If this past week is any indication, who wins in November might be more of a reflection of their party affiliation, rather than the individual themselves. After Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen made remarks questioning Ann Romney’s knowledge of the economy based upon her experience in the workforce, the Romney camp made quick work of turning it into a media firestorm. This was the perfect opportunity for Republicans to impress the large demographic of women voters by showing their support of a mother’s right to choose not to work and instead stay at home to take care of her family. The Republicans’ fight against allowing birth control to be included in mandatory care mostly hurt their popularity with women across the nation, so a situation like this one gave them a much-needed leg-up.
On the other side, President Obama and his campaign team haven’t let anything slip by, either. Last week, it was announced that Romney would request a six-month extension from the IRS to file his 2011 taxes, seemingly to avoid further pressure from Democrats on the taxes Romney himself pays. President Obama was quick to come out against his filing for an extension, questioning his motives and asking Romney what he has to hide. The debate over the economy and tax levels has been ever so prevalent in the past months. The Democrats will most likely use examples like this to try to prove, in the coming months, that the Republicans, and Romney specifically, cannot relate and do not care about the middle class of our nation.
If these situations are any sign of what is to come, there will certainly be no shortage of mud slinging going on between now and November. The primary is done and, for the most part, so are the slip-ups that we’ve seen from the candidates before. It’s serious now. Each party has a lot to prove to the voters, and they will not pass up a single opportunity to gain an edge, no matter where it’s coming from. No punches will be held back, and each candidate is going to have to work hard to show they deserve a chance to the reigns for the next four years. So, I say, “let the games begin.”
Brad Tipper is a sophomore majoring in political science and economics. His column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays.
