Over the last 50 years, more and more people have become increasingly liberal, lending themselves to greater left-winged thinking. As opposed to a particular set of values held in high esteem by the majority of the country, nowadays, relativism (the notion that what is true for one person, may or may not be true for someone else) runs rampant. But even so, there is still a large constituency of citizens in this country who are very conservative and still hold the aforementioned social values to be true. This fact was solidified over the past 8 years, as a conservative Republican has been elected to consecutive terms in the oval office. So, with the country seemingly split and the next presidential election looming, a few questions arise – Which party has a more realistic shot of winning the election? Which side has the more convincing platform? In reality, only time will tell how the public vote will be swayed. To me, it seems as if the pendulum is swinging more towards the Republican side. However, I feel that the Republicans have the edge, but not because of the individual platforms on which they are running. Rather, the Republican Party candidates have the advantage regarding personal characteristics and how the American public views them. Let’s take a look at the prominent candidates on each side.
Democratic Party:
1. Barack Obama
Barack Obama is currently the Senator of Illinois. But, it seems as if he has too many things going against him to win the presidency. First of all, he is young and may be a little inexperienced. Second, he is African American. Now, I want to emphasize that I personally feel that anyone of any race, religion or social standing could and would do a good job at running this country. However, when it comes to electing its first African American president, I feel that America still may have to prejudice for this to occur. Again, I believe that Barack would do a fine job in the Oval Office, but many in this country may still think otherwise. Lastly, Obama’s name sounds a great deal like our terrorist counterparts in the Middle East. Even though something as ridiculous as a name should not factor into the equation, it may be enough to sway the less informed voter.
2. Hilary Clinton
Hilary Clinton is currently the Senator of New York. Much like that of Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton’s situation may face some resentment and bias. During her husband’s time as president, she was inundated by speculation and scandal alike. From the alleged Whitewater scandal to the Monica Lewinsky saga and its aftermath, along with her husband, Hilary Clinton’s name has been dragged through the mud time and time again. This may have cast too much of a bad light on her to have a positive effect on the election. Also, much like Obama, she has a personal characteristic that many may feel is not right for the Oval Office. She is a woman. Even though our society claims that women are men’s equal counterparts, I believe that any woman will have a difficult time winning the presidency running for the first time.
Republican Party:
1. Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney is currently the Senator for Arizona. The reasons he will have a difficult time winning the presidential election are two-fold. First, his infamous hunting accident made him out to be a complete imbecile. With so many people doubting the intelligence of George W. Bush, the public is definitely shying away from candidates who have made unintelligent moves like Cheney. Second, for many years Cheney has had widely publicized health problems. He may be too risky of a candidate for that reason alone.
2. Mitt Romney
Ever since the Dark Ages, the powers that be have attempted to separate state and religion as much as possible. Now more than ever, the President is viewed as a political, social and economic presence, one abstaining from dabbling in religious matters. Mitt Romney, however, is a very religious man, being a member of the Mormon church. And even though, he has never allowed his personal, religious beliefs to get in the way of representing the ideals and beliefs of his constituents, the American public may not want a religious figure as president.
The aforementioned candidates, along with Rudy Giuliani, have been touted as the handful of candidates who have a realistic chance of becoming President of the United States of America. And since each of them have numerous obstacles to overcome in order to win the election, I strongly believe that whoever runs against Mitt Romney and Dick Cheney for the Republican vote, will have the best chances of winning. Rudy Giuliani comes to the forefront of the conversation, but so to does Newt Gingrich. However, only Giuliani has made an official declaration of candidacy.