Public Comment

Democratic as well as semiconscious Republican voters will have a difficult choice for President in 2012, because they may feel that there isn’t much to choose from. It is the more conscious of the Republicans who traditionally have voted Democrat in the past and have thus brought Democratic candidates into office. Part of this formula involves a percentage of Democratic voters who will defect to the Republican candidate, necessitating the swaying back to Democrat of some of the Republicans. 

Obama, by attempting to pander to the demands of the Republicans, hasn’t made any friends. Instead of that, he is perceived as weak and lacking in leadership. And he has lost the support of much of his Liberal Democratic base. By trying to please both the Republicans and Democrats at once, Obama has miscalculated. Candidates will get into office through either a tough conservative or a strong liberal stance. No one will get into office through being a heavily diluted candidate who doesn’t stand for anything. 

Now, the Republicans are talking about the “mystery candidate” who is going to enter the race. Let’s hope that such a person isn’t choosing this timing so that he or she could opt out of most of the debating. These early debates enabled the voters to rule out support of an incompetent candidate. If Sarah Palin wanted to enter the presidential race, now would be the time she would do so; her fellow republicans are losing momentum, and less stamina is required of a candidate entering the race later. This is beside the fact that there will be fewer debates and much less scrutiny for Palin to deal with, which would have revealed her for what she is: unqualified. 

Sarah Palin, however, lost a lot of her popularity through resigning from her job as Governor. So maybe we’re looking at Donald Trump entering the arena. Trump, while he has been fortunate in various business enterprises, is not suitable to be President. And in his case, my explanation of timing is still applicable: He has avoided considerable debating as well as scrutiny. Trump would be a disaster as President, and might be the only one out of the bunch who would lose to Barack Obama. 

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich is crying foul over Mitt Romney’s “negative campaign.” It is completely bogus for a candidate to attempt to impose a rule that everyone be positive, and to expect one’s opponent to follow such a rule. This is especially so if there is a lot of material available for a negative campaign due to all the bad things there are about Newt. As House Speaker, Gingrich shares culpability alongside President Obama for the lack of progress we have experienced in the last three years. 

Like I said, voters will have a tough choice in November between a slew of candidates who all seem to share the same mediocrity and a lack of leadership. I still think Hillary Clinton ought to run.