Jun ‘11
16
Public Policy Debates as Signaling Devices to the Base
New York Times columnist David Brooks says he is covering the 2012 presidential campaign in protest over the fact that it will be “unusually incommensurate to the problems at hand.” Last Monday evening the Boston Bruins scored two quick goals on the Vancouver Canucks sending goalie Roberto Luongo went to the bench, and I switched to St. Anselm’s in New Hampshire to watch history being made. Two Minnesota Republicans competing to be president of the United States in a seven candidate debate.
In two hours and a good debate format led by CNN’s John King, the seven proved Brooks right. It will be a very long 16 months unless the GOP can save one of its candidates from sucking up to “the base” tackling Obama rather than the deep and broad problems Americans face today. Mitt Romney looked, and his opponents made him seem, presidential.
My former driver Tim Pawlenty was given a chance to prove why states could improve health care policy better than President Obama, and he backed off of engaging Romney in a debate over “Obama-ney care.” Michele Bachmann declared her candidacy and prompted the guys to testify to their love for the Tea Party she represents. Media called her “capable of holding her own” even though she did her “rhetoric as fact” thing claiming “Obamacare will kill 800,000 jobs.
Herman Cain proved he’s no Ross Perot, Newt Gingrich will forever be Newt Gingrich with or without handlers, and Rick Santorum is the male Michele steeped in the religious “values” approach to American exceptionalism. Pawlenty won the prize for turning separation of church and state on its head, and Ron Paul challenged every one of them to get serious about helping us decide what’s the best role for government in a federal system like ours.
Periodically, we send out email updates when new articles or collections of articles, are published. To sign up for these email updates, please provide the information below.