Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Seven Republican Party candidates for the 2012 presidential election engaged in a tepid debate in New Hampshire on Monday night, with all of them in broad agreement on conservative values on relating to gay marriage, abortion rights, shrinking the size of government and repealing President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform.

Frontrunners such as Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, and nationally recognised figures Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum were understandably reluctant to launch any attacks against their rivals this early in the contest, with more than six months to go before the primaries and caucuses kick off.

However what was remarkable was that even the candidates who were relatively less well-known or new to the national platform, including Tea Party-backed Michele Bachmann and former Pizza company CEO Herman Cain, focused their criticism on the shortcomings of Mr. Obama rather than seeking distinguish their policy stance from those of the others on stage.

The closest that any of them came to trading barbs was when Mr. Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota, was questioned on his use of the term “Obamneycare,” an insinuation that the universal healthcare plan that Mr. Romney introduced in Massachusetts in 2006 was highly similar to the seminal Affordable Care Act passed by the Obama administration last year.

Yet even there Mr. Pawlenty passed up the opportunity to press Mr. Romney to spell out how his policy was any different to Mr. Obama’s healthcare reform. Instead he said that his decision to use “the term “Obamneycare” was a reflection of the President's comments that he designed Obamacare on the Massachusetts health care plan.”

The elephant in the room, however, was the absence of several Republican heavyweights who were yet to throw their hats in the ring, most notably former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and former Ambassador to China, John Huntsman. Both of them are widely expected to announce their candidacies in the near future.

To an extent the debate also reflected the conservative, economy-focused mood in the country, with the arguments predominantly revolving around domestic issues. Foreign policy found scarce mention throughout, with the candidates only offering a few critical words on the Obama administration’s costly military engagement in Libya and Afghanistan.

On Libya Ms. Bachmann said that U.S. involvement had failed to advance “any vital American interest,” and Mr. Paul, said that as Commander-in-Chief he would push for cuts to military spending in Afghanistan and consider bringing American troops home soon.

At certain points the debate was also indicative of what some view as a deeper malaise within the Republican ranks – that there is a growing disconnect between the fiscally and socially conservative Tea Party on the one hand and the mainstream Republican view on the other.

Exemplifying this tension, when Ms. Bachmann was asked about whether she would enact laws to define marriage as being between a man and woman only, she initially said that she was not in favour of interfering with state laws on this subject.

Yet contrary to the Tea Party principle that states ought to be free of federal government diktat, Ms. Bachmann later conceded that she would be in favour of enacting a common marriage law through constitutional decree.

The primaries and caucuses, which will throw up the final candidate to run against Mr. Obama in the 2012 elections, will be held early next year. However there will be at least two more debates before then, in August and September.

From The Hindu

Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and one of several frontrunner Republican Party candidates, has announced his presidential bid for 2012 through a campaign video that sought to fix the spotlight firmly on job-creation.

Mr. Romney, a multimillionaire businessman, is the second Republican candidate to throw his hat in the ring, after Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota. Others likely to enter the fray are former Alaska Governor and Tea Party favourite Sarah Palin, former Arkasas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

On the Democratic side only the incumbent, President Barack Obama, has declared his candidacy, also through a campaign video, which however focused on the campaign method – “people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbours, co-workers, and friends” – rather than any policy priority.

In launching his campaign, Mr. Romney criticised Mr. Obama’s policies for failing to create jobs quickly. Instead, he argued his own extensive private sector experience – he served, notably, as the CEO of management consulting major Bain and Company – had imbued him with the ability to get the United States economy back on track.

Touching upon the high unemployment rates that he had witnessed in states such as Nevada, Mr. Romney argued, “How has this happened in the nation that leads the world in innovation? The answer is that President Obama's policies have failed.”

Mr. Romney also said that from his vantage point in business and in government, he had “become convinced that America has been put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians, and it has become even worse during the last two years.” He also said that it would be his intention to balance the U.S.’ budget and enforce fiscal discipline.

In announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for his presidential run Mr. Romney is now able to officially seek donations for campaign funding, although he is widely expected to use a sizeable amount of his personal wealth as well.

According to a poll by Gallup late last month, Mr. Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ms. Palin and Newt Gingrich were “bunched in the top tier while another dozen or so possibilities bring up the rear.”

Similarly, a survey by the Pew Research Center in March also indicated “a fairly tight cluster”, with Mr. Romney at 21 per cent, Mr. Huckabee at 20 per cent, Ms. Palin at 13 per cent and Mr. Gingrich 11 per cent.