I read that Barack Obama needs to find new jobs for the Americans before he could keep his at the White House in the upcoming presidential elections. Every other issue, be it domestic or foreign, will be less important in 17 months, when the Americans choose their president, all members of the House, and a third of the Senators. Mitt Romney currently leads the Republican contenders for the presidency. He announced that the economy will be the main focus of his campaign. He will attempt to convince the voters that his vast and successful experience in the private sector will enable him to propose effective solutions for the ongoing financial crisis. Romney said that while Barack Obama is not responsible for the onset of the financial crisis, he is indeed responsible for decisions that have further prolonged the recession, and that he cannot continue to lay the blame on George W. Bush forever. (I had also read that the majority of new jobs added last month were at McDonald's). Sarah Palin, meanwhile, remains the second most popular Republican contender among the voters. However, I shall return to her and to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann tomorrow. I had also read that Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann both enjoy strong chances to obtain the Republican nomination for the presidency. However, I believe otherwise, as I read a survey of public opinion which showed that three-quarters of Republicans have not even heard of Huntsman, while the quarter that indeed has, does not support much his political stances, including his work for the Obama administration, and his position on immigration. Perhaps the name Tim Palwnty is better known among the Republicans. However, some of the aspects of his declared policies are unpopular, even when he is renowned for his conservative approach to fiscal affairs. Yet, the candor with which he takes price may damage him. He often speaks of cutting popular programs and increasing the age of retirement progressively, in order to get social assurances. He has also admitted that his positions on agriculture do not suit his agriculture-rich state of Iowa. This is while his positions on healthcare benefits do not suit Florida, and his positions on financial reform do not suit Wall Street, i.e. New York. Nevertheless, he is determined to be honest with the American people. In recent days, the name Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania governor, began being circulated as a possible candidate. However, I noticed that Republican voters do not know him either, and I do not think this will change quickly since he is not a thought-provoking personality to begin with. The person who has better chances is Texas Representative Ron Paul, who is indeed controversial. He had opposed the war on Iraq, and nominated himself in 1988 and 2008. However, I do not think his luck will change. He is 75 years old, i.e. he is older than any other candidate. Further, I believe that Newt Gingrich has effectively pushed himself out of the competition, which has barely begun. He has a bad reputation and suffered many scandals, and he is addicted to making gaffes. Both the right and the left recently attacked him, after he attacked both sides' ideas for reforming the economy. Gingrich's campaign slogan is ‘win the future'. However, this is similar to Obama's slogan that called for change, and Romney's 'Believe in America', which was Sen. John Kerry's campaign against George W. Bush. Pawlenty's slogan, meanwhile, is ‘Time for Truth', and Santorum's is ‘Courage'. Of course, in order for a candidate to win, he or she must first be nominated by their party for the post. This raises the issue of a particular Republican feature, which was clear with George W. Bush: The Christian evangelists represented around 44% of Republican voters in the primaries to select the party's candidates for the presidency and Congress. But the power of the evangelists reminds me of that of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: While the former do not numerically account for 44 percent of the voters, they have the ability to mobilize their supporters to vote, rendering their size much larger than their actual numbers among the voters. This is exactly the case with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The two groups are similar even in another respect: While the Christian evangelists were not a significant power in American elections only two decades ago, when they only focused on religion, and so was the Brotherhood, which preferred to focus on preaching before political work. What matters now is that the Republican contenders are wooing the evangelists. We have seen a few days ago how they all attended a conference of the Alliance of Religions and Freedoms, which must have faced a dilemma: For both Romney and Huntsman are Mormons, and the full name of their church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which permits polygamy. This church is opposed by the evangelists, and this may well influence the party's choice of its candidate for the presidency. I shall continue tomorrow. [email protected]
