Presidential primary elections are supposed to be crucibles to test a candidate’ credentials, stamina and perceived ability against the candidates from the other party. Running against people with similar ideologies means campaigning ability plays an even greater role in giving each candidate an edge. Despite the fact every Republican candidate has run for election before, every campaign has made significant errors that jeopardize its ability to defeat President Obama in 2012.
This week, Politico dug up sexual harassment accusations against Herman Cain from a decade ago that ended in quiet settlements for two women working for the National Restaurant Association while he was its CEO. Cain initially said these claims were “baseless and false” and was unaware of any settlements. Cain’s response evolved over the first day, saying there were settlements but he never actually harassed anyone. Experts say it’s possible the National Restaurant Association might have quietly paid the accusers to avoid public embarrassment even if the accusations were weak. But until more information comes out, no conclusions can be drawn.
Politico gave Cain’s campaign 10 days to respond to the accusations before it published the information, and Cain apparently did not respond or prepare much of a response. Cain has had trouble with some responses in interviews before. When asked about abortion, Cain initially said he was opposed but left room for women to choose. Later, he revised his answer to no choice and no exceptions. When asked whether he would consider an Israeli-Palestinian style prisoner swap if an American was being held hostage, Cain said he would consider releasing every detainee at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for one American hostage overseas. Later that same day, he said he would never negotiate with terrorists, which has been his official stance for some time.
Cain isn’t the only one making mistakes. Mitt Romney’s campaign has been consistent, and he has made speeches and held events in the early primary states and did well in the debates. However, Romney is the only candidate I have yet to see give an interview on national television, probably because Romney has significantly changed his stances on issues over the past decade, and he wants to avoid talking about it. But the Obama campaign will not let him avoid this if he becomes the Republican nominee.
Rick Perry’s implosion was caused by his inability to clarify his positions many conservatives would disagree with, but it was also caused by his poor performance at debates where he seemed out of energy. If a candidate is tired now, he probably shouldn’t be running for president. Perry last week said he wouldn’t be participating in most of the upcoming debates but quickly changed his mind after drawing criticism from all sides.
Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll in August but was unable to translate that into greater national support. Part of the reason for this is Cain and Perry soaking up her support, but Bachmann also doesn’t have as extensive of credentials as people are looking for in a president.
Newt Gingrich is rising slowly in the polls as the frontrunners fall victim to media scrutiny, but Gingrich has run a lazy campaign. He took a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea this summer while his campaign staff quit all at once. He compares his rise in polls to third place to the fable of the tortoise and the hare, but part of his success is due to people running out of options.
Ron Paul, who is unable to connect to people outside his base of support because he doesn’t do well speaking publicly, isn’t afraid to say when he disagrees with most Republicans and goes off on random tangents sometimes during the debates. Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson are victims of being boxed out by a crowded Republican field and will probably drop out after the first round of primaries if not sooner.