THE PALPABLE excitement that surrounded Barack Obama's presidential campaign and subsequent election quickly dissipated. In the months leading up to November 2008, he instilled true inspiration, laying out aspirational goals that would improve the nation's economy, health care and civil rights; he truly became a symbolic figure of hope. Yet after garnering nearly 53 percent of the popular vote in his duel with John McCain - the largest proportion for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 - Obama now faces a citizenry in which 43 percent of the individuals "strongly disapprove" of his performance.
Now compare Obama's run for office to the campaigns of the front-runners for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have largely foregone displaying their political talents, and instead have attempted to woo the public by promoting themselves in a way that says nothing about their potential capability of running the U.S. government. If Obama fell out of favor so swiftly, even after coming in with what seemed to be a demonstrated road map to prosperity, how can these men hope to perform any better?
A no-name early on, Cain quickly rose through the ranks of his GOP counterparts, largely because of his "9-9-9" Plan. In it, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO proposes a new tax structure for the country: a nine percent corporate business flat tax, a nine percent income flat tax, a nine percent national sales tax and the complete elimination of our current tax system. Many liberals, conservatives and even one of Cain's consultants have deemed the plan impractical, but Cain knows it is a great selling point. As The Washington Post put it, "Herman Cain's plan... is pure gold in the political arena." Regardless of the plan's theoretical uselessness, Cain only cares that he attracts voters with the catchy tagline of "9-9-9."
The Oct. 18 GOP presidential debate provided a prime example of the disorder upon which Perry and Romney are running. While debating the issue of undocumented immigration, Perry accused Romney of "standing at the height of hypocrisy" because Romney was arguing for stricter immigration laws, yet had accidentally hired undocumented workers in 2007. Perhaps the situation does raise questions about how hardline Romney's attitude toward undocumented immigration actually is, but is it really the height of hypocrisy? Rather than use this discussion to debate one of the country's most pressing issues, Perry chose to make a statement that was at the height of hyperbole. But I doubt Perry cared that his claim was unsubstantiated or that Romney actually does want to crack down on undocumented immigration, for his exaggerated statement gained him considerable media attention.
After the debate, the buzz surrounding Romney was not mainly related to any of his arguments, but rather his retort to Perry's assertion of hypocrisy. Laughing, Romney looked to Perry and commented, "This has been a tough couple of debates for Rick." Though the condescending remark added nothing to the debate, Romney knew it would make reporters flock to him afterward.
Although these three examples are a mere sample of the candidates' campaigns, they certainly represent the larger themes. The leading candidates are not so interested in the substance of their messages, but rather in garnering the public's attention. Cain, Perry and Romney too often fail to give us any inclination of their governing ability, instead choosing to pursue popularity through cheap tactics.
Opponents might argue that this is exactly what kept Obama from succeeding. They might say his rhetoric was too plentiful and his actual plan too meager while campaigning. I will not assert that he had things planned out perfectly, but at least he often considered the issues of creating jobs, decreasing oil dependency and treating gays equally. Sadly, this cannot be said of the Republican candidates, who seem to prioritize getting themselves into the headlines while leaving the important political discussion for later.
We are left with candidates who fail to communicate any political goals they might have for the United States. Obama came in with perhaps the most inspiring plan the nation had seen in decades and still failed in the minds of many. What then are we to expect from these Republican candidates, who focus their efforts on superficial self-promotion, rather than campaigning?
Cameron Seib is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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