Commentary
You would think it should be an exciting time in Republican politics. It’s not.
Polls show that President Obama would easily beat any specific Republican candidate. The closest hypothetical race being between Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in which Obama beats Romney 52 percent to 40 percent, according to the latest Politico/George Washington University poll.
The key number is the one between Obama and a generic Republican candidate. In other words, not Obama against a real person, just a sort of vague mental construct that poll participants conjure up. In this matchup, Obama only wins 43 percent to 40 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll.
The reality behind these numbers is that the Republican contenders themselves are watching them. Most of the contenders are trying to somehow be that generic Republican candidate and capitalize on the vague mental impressions of Americans. In other words, it’s not even the shallowness of real politics; it’s the shallowness of people trying to emulate the shallowness of real politics.
If it keeps up, Americans will smell the phoniness of it all. In 2012, the incumbent, President Obama, will just have to present himself as dealing with the real day-to-day problems of running America and that in itself will be a crisper and more down-to-earth image that Americans will ultimately connect with.
For me, one telltale sign that the Republican contenders in their current state have no chance of beating President Obama is their lack of a stance on China, the No. 2 (and rising) economy and the world’s most populous country. The communist regime that rules China plays underhanded tricks with the manipulation of the Chinese currency and state-controlled economy. Further, the communist regime is completely at odds with American values and basic standards of freedom and human rights.
If you are talking about international issues that matter to Americans and you are not talking about China, then it’s apparent that you don’t know what you’re talking about!
Take a visit to the websites of five major Republican contenders, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson, Tim Pawlenty, and Herman Cain. As is customary, each one has a section on where they stand on the issues and their visions for American policy under their leadership.
Of the candidates, four of the five make absolutely no mention of China. The fifth, Pawlenty, makes no policy statement about China, but vaguely likes to reference China’s economic rise. In a recent Tweet, he writes, “America's rightful place is not lagging behind China, America's place is leading the free world.”
Why don’t they talk about something as big and important as our policy toward China? Is it because they value free markets and China’s money over fair trade with China and over the basic human rights and freedom of the Chinese people?
That is the conclusion that Americans are left to draw. Just think, what if 18th century France decided that it was better not to interfere in England’s internal affairs and economy, and not help the American colonists ensure their basic human rights and freedom?
There is something utterly un-American and inhuman going on in China that absolutely does affect America. The statesman who can call it out casts him or herself as the true American leader.
evan.mantyk@epochtimes.com
