Candidates running out of time to prove worth

by-Ryan Smith

While trying to grapple with a dead heat race for the presidency, both candidates seem to have forgotten the importance of campaigning their policies, focusing instead on saving face and catering to already loyal voters.

Allegations and accusations about who was or wasn’t a war hero have dominated headlines and news broadcasts for months.

Ambiguous comments about tax cuts, economic development, environmental policy and the war in Iraq all serve little more purpose than to whet the appetite of voters already entrenched on one side of the party line or the other.

During a visit to Ohio, one of a handful of important swing states in this November’s election, President Bush told spectators, “In order to make sure jobs stay here in Ohio and America, we’re going to make sure countries treat us the way we treat them.

“When it comes to trade, our markets are open; they need to open up their markets.”

Interestingly, instead of questioning how Bush plans to execute those proposals, everyone just accepted them at face value.

Statements like these are rally cries and press bait that provide little insight about how the candidate actually intends to run the country.

It would appear that the candidates are afraid to take a stance on numerous important issues, as it might result in some voters shying away from the candidates’ campaigns.

However, if a candidate were to take a firm, detailed stance on at least some of the hot issues facing this country, like its economy or immigration, then just maybe they would pick up votes, not only from the swing states, but from swing voters all over the country.

Swing voters who are unsure about which candidate is best suited for the position, apathetic voters and even young new voters—these people represent an untapped resource of support and might just be the determining factor of the outcome in November.

What better time to address issues and to discuss the candidates policies than at the party conventions.

There is no other event on the campaign trail that spotlights the candidate on a national level better than the national convention. All eyes and ears are waiting intently to hear what the candidate and his party supporters have to say. Why waste that valuable time congratulating themselves as being at the top of their game when they could be convincing outsiders not yet solidly affiliated with one party or the other to take a side based on a candidates ideologies?

Unfortunately, the Democratic National Convention failed to take advantage of that opportunity last month as it came and went with sparse television coverage and little to no upward movement in the polls.

If Bush and the Republican Party wish to take command of the polls, the Republican National Convention, which kicks off today, will be the place to set the tone of the next two months.

A Bush adviser told The Washington Post, “If you don’t assert the sovereignty and legitimacy of your administration from the outset, you undermine your ability to achieve your goals later.”

While the convention has typically been viewed as ceremonial, it shouldn’t be just about highlighting key figures in the party.

Both of the candidates need to stop preaching traditional values (when they don’t tell you what they are) and they need to start informing the country how they are going to make good on the promises they have made to the constituency.

Come November, voters should be able to make a sound, informed, knowledgeable vote for one of the candidates. If that doesn’t happen, it is because the candidates have failed to properly address the concerns of the country and regardless of the outcome of the election, not one American will be a winner.