Rick Santorum’s departure heralded the beginning of the general election. Mitt Romney, with the backing of the Republican establishment, and the growing support of the base, can now devote his resources for a one on one showdown against President Barack Obama. Recent polls indicate that he is behind by only a few points in a head to head match-up against the President. High employment rate, skyrocketing gas prices, ballooning national debt, and an exhausting war in Afghanistan created animosity against the President’s administration. Therefore, the President must decisively address these issues in the months ahead to ensure reelection. He must pull the jobless rate below 8%, and lower the price of fuel. The President must not prolong the war in Afghanistan and must not escalate tension with Iran. In essence, a President seeking reelection will need to embody Niccolo Machiavelli’s acumen and Desiderius Erasmus’ deferential image. Now, I will outline what the President must do to handily beat Romney. A key to victory this November is the unemployment rate. According to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted in March 8-11, 42% of Americans consider unemployment and jobs as “the most important issue facing the country right now” (Priorities). Although there has been 24 consecutive months of private sector employment growth, the Federal Reserve suggests that the numbers could fade in the coming months. The importance of creating more jobs cannot be stressed enough. No President in the recent era has been reelected with the unemployment rate above 7.2% (Roth). To paint a picture, in late 1982, the unemployment rate topped 10.8 under Ronald Reagan. However, about 36 months later, the rate dropped to 7.2% percent. The drastic drop in the n... ... middle of paper ... ...e. Gutenberg. Web. 02 Apr. 2012 Madison, Lucy. "Poll: Support for War in Afghanistan Hits All-time Low." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. "Marketplace from American Public Media." The Cost of a Soldier Deployed in Afghanistan. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. Mendes, Elizabeth. "Americans Favor Keystone XL Pipeline." Gallup.com. Gallup, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. "Priorities." PollingReport.com. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. Roth, Zachary. "Latest Videos." Morning Joe Blog. MSNBC, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. Scherer, Ron. "US to Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Drive Gas Prices down." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 June 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. "Unemployment Rate: How Low Can It Go by Election Day? Under 8 Percent?" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 07 Jan. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012.
Stephen Skowronek writes about political time and how one can determine the legacy a president will leave behind at the time their presidency is done. The president has immense powers when he comes to office, but the challenges they each face vary depending on the time they take office. Skowronek analyzes and demonstrates that the most essential factor for a president to attempt to legitimize his actions and orders will be the actions of the president before him. Following the actions of George W. Bush is how we can determine where Barack Obama falls under and follow the chain to the next president. If Hillary Clinton were to win the 2016 election, she would fall under the politics of articulation and Barack Obama would fall under the politics of pre-emption.
New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 11 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010.
Leading up to the year 1981, America had fallen into a period of “stagflation”, a portmanteau for ‘stagnant economies’ and ‘high inflation’. Characterized by high taxes, high unemployment, high interest rates, and low national income, America needed to look to something other than Keynesian economics to pull itself out of this low. During the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan’s campaign focused on a new stream of economic policy. His objective was to turn the economy into “a healthy, vigorous, growing economy [which would provide] equal opportunities for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.” Reagan’s policy, later known as ‘Reaganomics’, entailed a four-point plan which cut taxes, reduced government spending, created anti-inflationary policy, and deregulated certain products.
Norton, E. H., Jacobus, C., & Clifton. (2013, December 30). Capitol Strategies - Presdent Interview. Fox News. (C. Payne, Interviewer)
Saltzman, Joe. "All the News that Fits Our Views." USA Today Sept. 25, 2004: 55.
Schoen, John W. (2006). How much is the war in Iraq costing us? Retrieved on 2/16/2012 on website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/ns/business-answer_desk/t/how-much-war-iraq-costing-us/#.Tz1B3lxSTdI
The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 July 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2012.
Carroll, Doherty. 2014. "7 things to know about polarization in America." Pew Research Center, June 12. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-america/ (March, 2015).
"How the Bush Administration Sold the Iraq War." Msnbc.com. NBC News Digital, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
Quinnipiac University in 2012, 67 % of people in the years of 18-29 support the
Today, nearly 12 million of our fellow Americans are unemployed. Our hardest hit communities are struggling to hold on. The trend is not reversing. Government has not taken strong enough action. So what can we do about it?
Desilver, Drew. "5 Facts about the Minimum Wage." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 47 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 May 2014.
Kenworthy, Tom. Struggling to Create A Homeland Defense. 8 Oct. 2001. 1 Apr. 2002. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/attack/2001/10/09/homeland.htm>
In a recap, the three policies introduced, the Unemployment Reformation Act of 2059, the Infinite Education Opportunities Program Act, and the Unity Tax, will be a vital part in restoring and surpassing expectations for decreasing the percentage of Americans unemployed by ten to fifteen percent within the next six to eight months. I believe that with these policies the chances of a recession will not occur for a long period of time. For that matter, a recession may not occur again depending on how successful the unemployment plans develop. Nevertheless, I predict that by the year 2109 the employment rate for Americans will reach eighty-three to eighty-five percent.
Mouhammed, A. H. (2011). Important theories of unemployment and public policies. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 12(5), 100-110.