This NY Times video has an analysis of the four announced candidates so far for president as well as thoughts on how all the candidates (and not so sure candidates like Daniels) did this past week.'
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/05/13/us/politics/100000000818107/caucus--the-youtube-primary.html
What are your thoughts on the candidates? Any favorites in your mind? People who should just drop out of consideration right now? How much of a chance do you give any of these individuals in defeating President Obama in 2012?
14 comments:
After watching that video and hearing what I do from the news, I think it is very alarming that there does not appear to be a "front-runner" thus far in the 2012 election. While it is normal, or expected, for their to be a lack of party unity among the Republican Party at this early stage, I think the fact that there are so many candidates with such few support is what voters should be worried about. I personally think that Newt Gingrich is an idiot, and I am fairly confident that America agrees with me (Newt lacks the evangelical Christian support that other conservatives have). Although T-Paw was very nice in person, I am concerned that he does not have quite the experience, or the popularity, needed to win the presidency. I think Mitt Romney would be the smartest choice for the Republican Party (although the news about his healthcare plan does concern me), and I firmly believe that if the GOP can completely unite behind him, then he could take on Obama.
However, I think that Obama will get re-elected. First off, even though he has not been a great president, he still has popularity, which I do not understand. Secondly, he has mass amounts of campaign funds, which can ingeniusly be used by his campaign to out-spend his opponents. In general, as an upcoming voter, I am deeply disappointed in my choices for president in 2012. I think that the Republicans need to get their ducks in a row in order to even make a mark on the campaign. I would not be surprised to see another 4 years of the Obama administration though.
I watched this video on the election as well as CNN last night that had a story about the candidates. I completely agree with Morgan that there is currently no Republican frontrunner and it could be anyone at this point. There are numerous potential candidates but not one as an extreme amount of popularity. Over the next year, as the repubicans realize that they can only have one very strong candidate, they will become united. Personally, I think Donald Trump should just stop now. In the CNN special last night, it was officially announced that he did not plan on being a Republican candidate for the 2012 election at all. I think it was a good idea because the American people simply do not take him seriously enough for a presidential candidate. Pawlenty has some very good ideas and his age could very well work to his advantage. He has demonstated that he can relate to many common Americans which may give him the necessary support. I think he has a lot of good and idealistic ideas, I agree with Morgan though about not knowing if he has enough government experience to be able to be the frontrunner and then lead our country. Being as unbiased as possible, I still do not feel that any of these candidates will be able to beat out Obama. Obama has too many supporters that will either vote for him or not vote at all. He simply attracts the people that no other candidate can which gives him a much a greater advantage.
Okay so let me just tell you that video made me get goosebumps.....in a fightened/nervous kind of way. There does not seem to be any good options for the front-runner of the Republican Party. What is even more frustrating is that with the Republican Party not coming out strong with potential nominees for the presidential election, more people are going to just vote for Obama again. I have this gut feeling that Obama will get re-elected, and this feeling becomes bigger as the days go by, especially with the Republican Party's weak nominees for the 2012 presidential election. Newt Gringrich just can't happen; the man does not know what he is getting himself into and America needs a strong, powerful leader who is going to take initiative, and let me tell you something, that is not going to happen with Newt in charge. I have not heard enought about T-Paw so obviously if he isn't impacting the world enough for me to hear about it then he can't run for president; if people don't know about him then why waste the time running inthe first place?
Then there is Mitt Romney, who if I had to pick, if probably the person I like the most, out of the four men mentioned. None of them are strong candidates, but Mitt Romney is the closest to one out of the other four men. The only problem with him is that his healthcare plan is not well thought out and yes, he wants to get rid of ObamaCare and replace it with specific healthcare plans the states decide upon instead of the national government. I see disaster written all over that plan, and it's such a critical factor in today's world. The Republican Party still is looking for/NEEDS that strong leader that has the capabilities to lead the country. They better find that person soon before Obama gets re-elected...YIKES!
Like Morgan said, Obama still has a pretty strong support system in the American people. He remains popular among Democrats. The Republicans would stand a chance to take him because it is obvious due to the mid-term elections, where Republicans took Congress, that they have the ability to come together and beat the Democrats. However, I don't think they can come together with this election. They are so split because, like Morgan and Celine said, there isn't a Republican candidate that stands out as being strong. Without a leading candidate, the Republicans won't be able to beat Obama because they will remain too divided. Of all the republican candidates, I think Pawlenty will end up with the most support from his party, but I doubt it will be enough to beat Obama.
I think it is weird that there is no frontrunner because by this time of the year there usually is. In all honesty, it doesn't bug me because I tend to not lean Republican. But, I am glad to know that Donald Trump finally gave up. That was getting annoying. Realistically, I don't think anyone has a real chance of beating Obama, seeing the lack of a frontrunner right now. Obama has an advantage right now and I think it will end in his favor.
I think that it will be challenging for any Republican candidate to actually be able to compete against Obama. None of the Republican candidates right now have gained much popularity and there is no front-runner which will make it tough for anyone to gain momentum. Obama already has a ton of popularity despite his presidency which hasn’t been the best. Obama already has the support of America and a lot of funds to help him get reelected. Currently there is no strong leadership in the Republican Party and it doesn’t look like anyone is about to break away soon The Republican Party isn’t unified and it is going to take a lot for them to come together before the election. I personally am glad that Donald Trump dropped out of the presidential race so then America isn’t completely doomed.
I'm in agreement with everyone who has said that it is strange for the Republican Party to not have a presidential front-runner. I know that it is early in the election process, but normally around this time, there is a strong candidate who can unite and represent the party accurately. These candidates don't seem like they can compare to the popularity and campaigning skills possessed by Obama, and none mentioned in the video seem like viable options for the Republican Party. Right now, they are the only options for the Republicans until something else happens. If this current situation is the case for the upcoming 2012 elections, I don't see any one of the candidates having much of a chance. Obama has the advantage in that he has successfully represented his party and is well known while these candidates aren't really making a splash in the pool of politics. Therefore, I think Obama will most likely win his reelection next year if one of these candidates mentioned is his competitor. Without a strong leader to lead them through party divisions, the Republicans will have a slim chance in defeating Obama.
With many different candidates running for the Republican Party for the 2012 election, and no frontrunner (as others have already stated) it is difficult for each of them to really focus on themselves and express why they are better than the other candidates. Each candidate has to work harder to earn the support of the people. As the video explains, Obama does not need to focus on himself while campaigning. Instead, his campaign strategy is focusing on his many supporters he has since the previous presidential election. Due to the amount of support Obama already has, I too agree that he will be reelected. Mitt Romney is my personal favorite. I believe he has the greatest chance for this election. He has strong name identification and is also experienced when it comes to campaign fundraising. Even though I sometimes feel sorry for her, I think Sarah Palin should just drop out. She made a fool of herself last election and I do not think she should attempt to participate again this upcoming election.
I think the Republicans have no strong candidates this year because their party reputation has been damaged by disunity and media ridicule these past couple of years. They will have an obviously difficult time reunifying in time for the coming election. The Republican party does not have a clear, homogeneous political platform, so how can the candidates expect to? The weakness of the Republican candidates is a direct result of the increasing disunity within the entire party. The party division caused by the growing popularity of the Tea Party and the way ridiculous people like Sarah Palin and Donald Trump have associated themselves with the organization has really put Republicans behind. Mitt Romney seems like the best candidate, but the fact that he instituted a health care system in his state that is exactly like "obamacare" raises a lot of red flags. How can he be the Republican candidate when his most successful political move was fundamentally Democratic? How will he be able to support the Republican Party without seeming like a flip-flopper? John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and CNN have already called Romney out on his conflicting political message and if he becomes the Republican candidate the Democratic Party will already have a lot to throw in his face, and they'll have incumbency money to launch ad campaigns with, putting Romney in a lot of trouble.
I think the Republicans need to re-unify and establish a strong platform to have any chance at all of beating President Obama. His approval ratings and general failure to bring about results in his presidency have put Obama on the precipice of disaster, but if the Republicans don't reorganize fast his charisma and ability to spin news will give him an early lead. They need to gain back their reputation as a serious, classy, historical political organization, and move past all the mocking media coverage they have faced these past couple of years. If the party does not reorganize and regain their identity, how can they hope to win an election? Hopefully the party will discover an up-an-coming leader in the next couple of months to be their candidate, but if not, I think the party is in a huge amount of trouble.
The Republicans need to get their act together if they even want a shot at this next election. Yes, President Obama's approval ratings have decreased, but he will still be very powerful come voting time. The majority of Americans are not educated enough to know what the deficit is doing to our country. Therefore, the will see Obama and vote for him. Personally, I am not a big fan of any of the candidates. None of them seem able to take on the challenge of the 2012 election, let alone handle the economy right now. Romney has tried for the presidency before and has failed to gain the necessary support, especially to defeat Obama. T-Paw has not been able to successfully get his name out there yet, so he really needs to start some serious campaigning if he wants a chance. Although Gingrich is not my favorite person for the position, I think he has the most potential right now because of his experience as Speaker. He knows how to play the political game, which will help him to get the right support when it comes to winning the nomination. It doesn't really matter who get's elected though. China is going to take us over in 2012 and then the world is going to end, so the president won't have much of an opportunity to do work.
Like a lot of the girls above me, I agree that there is no republican frontrunner and that is very concerning. I have no idea who will win the republican spot for the presidential election but it will definitely be interesting to watch. I think that Trump should just stop before he gets too far ahead of himself. I would never vote for him and I can’t take him seriously. I think that Sarah Palin shouldn’t even think of tossing her hat in. The rest of them I have no real opinions about other than that none of them are really that impressive. I thought the videos discussion about all of their videos was interesting. The candidates really will have to introduce themselves to the American people, while Obama won’t have to worry about that. I thought that Obama’s video was really cool, because he focused on the people who support him. It would make me curious as to why those people support him and I would want to know more about what he is standing for in 2012. I don’t think that the current candidates for the Republican Party will be able to defeat Obama in the 2012 election. Hopefully the republicans will find someone good to join the running.
Okay, first of all, I'm one of the Democrats of the group so I guess I'm not exaclty "alarmed" by the lack of frontrunner in the Rebpulican party like other girls in the class. Although, I do think Obama should still be worried. His approval ratings since the whole Osama Bin Laden thing has gone up, but can that last him another year?
The biggest thing that stuck out to me in that video was the critsism of the candidate videos. Like really, the music in the backround really will make or break your vote for someone? We have learned that Americans are frustrated with politics and their politicians. But now I just think that's being taken too far. It should be about the person and their beliefs, not whether or not they had the right atmosphere in a video. I personally thought the little tidbits shown in the overall video looked very nice and professional. I think it is just weird that some people take it that far with their criticism.
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