There is a lot on a typical college student’s mind. We have to worry about finding parties, getting alcohol, finding attractive people of the opposite sex, checking our Facebook, tweeting, keeping up with text messages and staying up to date with pop culture. It’s no wonder things as minor as the Republican presidential primary are being overlooked. But boy, are we missing out.
The Republicans are providing us with reality TV-like entertainment, yet also providing the one thing that reality shows lack: reality. Mix that in with the fact that the stakes are a presidential bid? Wait, I think my popcorn is ready.
First, you have your typical presidential candidate in Mitt Romney. A lifetime politician, Romney is presentable, experienced, religious and an entrepreneur. He ran for the presidential nomination in 2008, and after losing to Sen. John McCain, he directed his attention toward the 2012 election. Before any debates had even happened, he was considered the front-runner. However, for some reason, Republicans can’t stand him.
Unsatisfied with Romney and the other candidates, Republicans began looking for more people to join the primary. For weeks, they begged New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to join the election. And after he said no, they begged even more. When they finally realized he was serious about not running for president, they decided to settle for the candidates they had, as long as it was anyone but Romney. While they will probably come back and choose him in the end, Republicans are trying any option before they have to get to that point.
The other front-runner and perhaps the most exciting candidate still in the race is Herman Cain. Cain has absolutely no background in politics. He was the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, and is a self-made man. He has criticized the Occupy Wall Street movement by saying, “If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself,” and his “9-9-9” tax plan to fix the economy sounds humorously similar to an old plan by Domino’s to sell more pizza. Most surprisingly, he has been accused of sexually harassing four women. This clearly is what Republicans want in a candidate, because a recent CBS poll has put him in first place.
If the Republican primary were “Jersey Shore,” Herman Cain would probably be Snooki. He is rather vapid and a little too sexually suggestive, but you keep watching because you never know what he is going to do next.
With a bunch of side characters like Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul, I’m surprised MTV hasn’t picked up all of the debates yet. But, while there is all this entertainment circulating around the election, there is a sense of apathy among college students.
Whoever wins the primary will run for president and all of our lives could be affected if he or she defeats President Barack Obama. Maybe in that downtime when we aren’t checking Facebook or Twitter for a party, we could do a little research on the presidential candidates. Yes, it’s still early in the race but why not give it a little attention? That way, we’re more informed when the big stuff rolls around.
— Dan Desrochers is a chemistry freshman. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
