Whither goest the GOP nomination?

Not being a republican, I've been able to watch the GOP debates and listen to the campaigns with a somewhat disinterested eye and ear. I visit right-wing websites to observe the banter and hope to discern some trend in attitude toward who the party wants to face Barack Obama.

Frankly, I've been watching politics a long time and cannot recall ever seeing such wild swings in support for so many candidates. Why,if the GOP believes Obama to be so vulnerable, is there not a candidate the party supports to take him on? Is it some kind of regional animus that drove folks to pitch the hapless and inarticulate Rick Perry to be the so-called anti-Romney? Why all the Romney hate this time around, when he was considered too conservative last time around? And could some Republican please explain the thinking behind pitching a candidate that has never served in office and is completely uninterested in foreign policy? I'm baffled on that one!

Finally, can it be possible that in desperation, the GOP is thinking of making Newt Gingrich their party poster boy? Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

Cain's appeal is very similar to Obama's appeal last election (and which he will not enjoy this election). He is an refreshing speaker, a new face, and probably most importantly...a relatively blank slate that people can write all their hope and change on. As far as foreign policy...that is easily explained...the 'people' really don't care about foreign policy this election.

It is all about the economy, unemployment, taxes, the budget, etc. Just ask Obama...no matter how many terrorists or dictators he puts 6 feet under, no matter how many wars he starts up or lets end - hardly a nudge in his ratings.

 

Because anybody worth holding the office is being held for 2016.

True story.

 

No, actually; that's wishful thinking on your part. Obama is in much better shape than anybody across the aisle wants to see or believe, and yes: what he is doing with foreign affairs has been a joy to behold. I don't think it's going to be a cakewalk, but he will serve a second term.

 

If people are losing their homes, lost their jobs or have taken hits at their jobs in terms of benefits and income on Monday then they may be happy that a mass murder in another part of the world is dead on Tuesday but on Wednesday they still are facing the same problems they had two days before.

 

I am disgusted with the establish leadership of both parties. I am most likely going to vote for any outsider in the Florida Republican Primary since I am registered as a republican hoping to find "change".

 

And still not the point. I'm a housemate in someone else's home, and we are struggling. You really think that whatever good the President accomplishes is wiped out by the state of our economy? Nevermind the fact that EVERYBODY knows who is at fault and trust me; he does not hold the highest office in the land.

 

Then you may be a true believer in who you support be it by person or party. I still believe most people want what is best for their family and that is how they going to vote be it for real reasons or ones manufactored by the mass media news/entertainment/commerical complex.

Image is everything, perception is reality. This is our world in the west.

 

Thou dost assume too much. It is not wishful thinking on my part. I am no Cain fan nor do I wish to see any of the likely Republican nominees get elected any more than I want to see Obama get re-elected. I believe they will all have pretty much the same effect on our country's long term health.

And there was a good article today on (I think) CNN talking about how foreign policy is not helping Obama's free fall in popularity. But, even without all the verbiage out there analyzing it, it really is pretty self evident.

 

Andy? Your reality is not the universal reality.

Of course people want what is best for their families but again: one does not negate the other. Full stop, period. You want him to get credit for not one thing, and it's just not turning out that way.

 

Reality? "It is the economy, stupid! The economy!"

 

But it doesn't follow from that that they will like what the Republicans have to offer. Such as it is. At this point it looks to me like the only way Obama is going to be a one-termer is if enough people don't vote and that would hardly be a ringing endorsement of the Republicans.

 

With 59% of the people against him (http://news.yahoo.com/obama-approval-rating-falls-low-poll-154922233.html), it will make little difference who the Republicans put against him. Oh, and then you have "It is the economy, stupid! The economy!" If you really feel that he as a chance as it stands now, you ought to watch some news.

 

We'll see. I don't particularly care one way or the other. It's kind of fun to talk about though.

 

It's interesting that Florida has moved its GOP primary date up in hopes of wielding more clout in the selection process. Do you consider any of the current crop of candidates an "outsider" -- Cain, perhaps? Do you believe he can accomplish change, knowing so little about how the wheels of government actually work?

 

Eventually, the Republican nominee will have to pony up some kind of economic recovery plan if he or she plans to be able to take out Obama in the general. I'm just not seeing that happening, since I believe that there is no short-term recovery possible for what ails us. As Obama said, we've just gotta eat our peas! So long as the GOP candidates continue to eat each others' lunches in these debates, so long as they avoid any real discussion of economic issues, they won't make headway with the much-coveted independent voters. So who's your best shot? Romney? Perry? Cain? Paul? Any of the others?

 

Sadly for the GOP, pollsters cannot find an actual Republican candidate who can beat Obama in the polls, however. Obama's job approval ratings (disapproval actually averaging about 50-52 percent) are indeed tied to the economy at the moment. But as OWS has shown us, when asked to consider their situations, most folks don't blame Obama and rightly so. He wasn't even president when the decline began. He will be re-elected rather easily, IMHO.

 

BO may not have been Prez when the economy began to falter but he sure has presided over it's accelerated crash. Gas prices are higher, unemployement has skyrocketed, our credit rating has dropped. Lie after lie after lie. Should we go on? And all of this after BO ran on the promise that he understood the problems & was qualified to turn things around. What happened? He had control over the WH & both houses of Congress. Even now he controls the WH & the Senate. It's time to accept the reality that BO has been a failed "feel good" experiment & he's incapable of managing a country or an economy.

 

If only Obama actually believed that we had to eat our peas to get out of this, I would be on his band wagon. But he really doesn't. He thinks we can still wage our wars overseas, keep our tax breaks, stimulate our way out of troubles, provide more to everyone instead of focusing our limited resources where they are needed the most. He still thinks only millionaires need sacrifice (used to be quarter-millionaires but that must have seemed too painful for them), etc, etc. Although his spinelessness has limited his ability in his first term, I don't have a lot of desire to see what he will really try to do when unfettered by being re-elected.

Who is the Republican's best bet to beat him? Romney. Although I think Perry could do it too. Most of the others? Toss up, IMO...with the exception of something crazy like a Bachmann/Palin ticket. lol The primaries are all about what we are seeing now. Once the primaries are over, the election campaigning will begin and the bickering will be long forgotten and the winner will serve up enough popular talking points and have enough ammunition with the current economy to do real well against the incumbent. If the Democrats have any hope hat the economy will be any better a year from now, they are sadly mistaken. Unemployment will be just as bad and we will be very lucky if we are not in a double dip by then. And even if we technically aren't, people will still think we are because their lives will be no better after yet another year of troubles.

Who is about the only one I think would be good for the country to see elected? Paul. Even though there are things I certainly disagree with him on and in many situations I would not want to see him elected, I believe, at the least, he is an honest, principled man. And I believe we could use a dose of his medicine at this critical point in our history to counteract what is going on in the 'mainstream extreme' of the 2 parties. But I think there is no way the Republican establishment would ever let him win a nomination. If he was front running right now, he would be cut off at the knees by the media, business and his own party. But I like having his opinions in the mix. Unfortunately, he is probably a decade ahead of the times.

My problem as a voter is that I have moved to the center over the last 2 decades while both parties have run to the extremes more each election. So I currently have no love for either party and have a tough decision on which would be the lesser evil at any given election. I don't think I am alone in the country....even though I am seriously outnumbered on PARTISAN Lines and other political type forums because they tend to be made up of hard core supporters for their chosen team.

 

Actually, I feel confident that absolutely no one could have prevented the crash that was precipitated by the greed and corruption of the FIRE economy. I fault Obama only for a too-small stimulus package the first time, but I understand why he did what he did. It's extremely shortsighted and naive to believe that a massive financial collapse and bubbles that were years in the making could be resolved in two years, or even four. Obama never promised instant cure to our woes, because he's a smart guy who has very smart advisers who no doubt advised him that any fix will take sometime as well as structural changes. He has my vote again, and my support. He's absolutely the best man for the job IMHO.