Mitt Romney: The Inevitable Candidate

Jason Cohen

Peabody College

Class of 2013

Last night’s Republican Presidential Debate, nationally televised on CNBC, was noteworthy, and represented what I think will prove to be a turning point for the Republican Primary election. Although there have been numerous candidates leading in the polls over the last few weeks and months, from Bachmann, to Perry, to Romney, and most recently Herman Cain, I think in the aftermath of the most recent debate, the primary picture got a lot clearer. Strategists on both sides of the aisles have argued that the polls are essentially meaningless, and that Mitt Romney is the inevitable candidate. I think the debate last night confirmed this belief, as 2 major gaffes by his main political rivals, Gov. Rick Perry, and businessman Herman Cain, proved to the American people that no candidate is more qualified to oppose President Obama in a general election than Gov. Romney.

Last night’s debate was particularly noteworthy in that it was the first debate focused solely on a single election issue: the economy. The debate’s tagline read: “Your Money, Your Vote”, illustrating that the debate would emphasize issues such as the tax code, the Federal Budget, and job creation. Whereas previous Republican Debates have featured conflicts between candidates, such as attacks by Perry over Romney’s record of inconsistency, or attack’s on Herman Cain’s 999 Plan, this most recent debate had no such conflicts, with each candidate choosing to simply answer their individual questions in the way they felt most appropriate. It is interesting to note, however, that in a debate where there were no such political attacks, the candidacies of both Perry and Cain were majorly injured, with Romney once again appearing calm, cool, and collected, and by far the most “presidential.”

Watching the debate, I kept wondering if and when the recent allegations of inappropriate behavior on the part of Herman Cain would come up. Sure enough, shortly after the beginning of the debate, Cain was given a chance to respond to these allegations, which he did successfully with great conviction. The moderators then gave Mitt Romney a chance to pile on his already hurting rival, by asking about his thoughts on Cain’s behavior. Gov. Romney took the high road, and declined to answer, a course of action I believe a less politically savvy candidate such as Perry or Bachmann would have not chosen. However, later in the debate, Cain referred to Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as “Princess Nancy.” I think this comment will ultimately help derail his campaign as one would think someone being accused of disrespecting women would be more intelligent with his word choices. Even though Cain clearly did not mean the comment in a suggestive manner, the topic of his character and his respect for women has clearly been questioned in recent days, and I would have liked to see him be more mindful of this when choosing his words.

In previous debates, Gov. Rick Perry has struggled staying on message for a full two hours. The main knock on his candidacy was that he simply does not possess the debating skills to be able to compete with Obama in a general election. It is for this reason that Perry, more than any other candidate, needed a strong debate performance to improve his declining poll numbers. Perry, unfortunately, did not perform well, and had what will be perhaps the most Youtubed political gaffe in recent years. Perry claimed he would cut three agencies from the Federal Government, and when pressed about the specifics, could only name two. “Commerce, Education, and what’s the third one there” Perry stumbled through his answer. When the moderator asked, almost incredulously, if he could not name the third agency that he wanted to eliminate, Perry looked embarrassed, and responded “I can’t…oops”.
Although the candidates were relatively well behaved last night, major errors for Cain and Perry have made a Romney nomination more likely. It will be interesting to see if Governor Romney can continue building momentum, or if one of the other candidates can find a way to right the ship, and combat the prevailing notion that Romney is the inevitable candidate.