With Presidential elections on the horizon, Trisha Chowdhury reports on what we can expect in the months ahead.
The US Presidential elections have the whole world watching with bated breath. Mitt Romney from the Republican Party has emerged as the front-runner. He is the partyÔÇÖs presumptive nominee and would run against incumbent President Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential elections.
Romney is an influential American businessman. He has been actively involved with politics since 1994. He served as the Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, and ran in the 2008 Presidential elections, losing his nomination to the Republican favourite, John McCain.┬á In the 2012 election campaign, Romney has targeted President Obama primarily on one ground: the downturn of the American economy. RomneyÔÇÖs corporate background and organisation has gained him a lot of public support.┬á He has also raised the largest amount of money for the Republican Party compared to the other candidates. At present, Romney is the Republican PartyÔÇÖs official nominee, commanding tremendous public support.
President Barack Obama is one of the most influential Presidents that America has had and a member of the Democratic Party.┬á A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Obama is the first African-American President of the United States. His term as President of the United States has witnessed many significant events, including the end of the Iraq War. He has also worked increasingly hard to strengthen the United StatesÔÇÖ foreign ties, thus improving the nationÔÇÖs foreign relations with many countries. Obama is seen not only as the President of the United States, but also as a global leader.
The Presidential debates are scheduled to be held on October 3rd, 16th and 22nd. The Vice Presidential debate will be on October 11th.
The most remarkable fact in the current Presidential elections is the amount of money that is being spent. Since the start of his campaign, Romney had been spending exorbitant figures on advertisement campaigns against President Obama. Romney has strictly avoided funding his campaigns from his company, Bain Capital, but his immense wealth has certainly helped the funding process. The Republican Party, with the help of Romney, raised a combined amount of $100 million in the month of June. RomneyÔÇÖs campaign is being supported by independent groups, resulting in more party donors. On the other hand, President ObamaÔÇÖs Democratic Party is struggling with funding. The President has even joked that he is ÔÇ£in danger of becoming the first sitting president in history to be outspent by his opponentÔÇØ.
The passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as ÔÇÿObamacareÔÇÖ, is a possible turning point of public opinion. The reform initiated by the President was considered controversial and was at the receiving end of much criticism. The reform involved some major tax hikes to make health insurance mandatory for every individual and offer benefits to individuals below the poverty line. This socialist approach to healthcare in capitalist America was an area where President Obama lost a lot of confidence of the people. However, this reform has now been passed by the Supreme Court and this might affect public perspective favouring President Obama.
The elections are thick with controversy with mudslinging from both sides. While President Obama has been criticised time and again by Romney on the economic condition of the United States and the PresidentÔÇÖs inability to deal with it, Romney also has his fair share of critics, not just from other parties, but from his own party as well, as it is believed in the Republican Party that he is not conservative enough.
Romney says that there are “no new answers” for the economy from the President, but the figures do suggest otherwise: with every passing day, unemployment figures in the United States are steadily declining. Romney says his priority is “jobs”, but more Americans are now employed and critics say that RomneyÔÇÖs campaign lacks ÔÇÿinitiativeÔÇÖ.┬á However, new controversies have emerged surrounding Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. The present debate is regarding RomneyÔÇÖs wealth. President ObamaÔÇÖs new campaign video poses these questions: “How long can Romney keep information on his investments in overseas tax havens secret? And why did he do it in the first place?ÔÇØ
Recent polls show that for voters, the two candidates are roughly on a par with each other, and the decision could go either way. The majority of voters are comfortable with the idea of having a generic white male candidate; however, with the Hispanic and African-American community, Obama is extremely popular, and Romney faces a challenge if he wishes to attract these votes.
The picture will become clearer with the start of the Presidential debates; until then, the rest of the world looks on and waits for the President of America to be elected.
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