GOP Candidates Duke It Out

By CALVIN SHERWOOD

The long running daytime soap opera, “All My Children,” just completed its 41st and final season. For anyone who is longing to fill the emotional void left by the show’s ending, all they need to do is tune in and watch the unceasing parade of drama that has become nominating a Republican presidential candidate.

This upcoming political season contains all the hallmarks to make it a successful daytime drama: power, money, political intrigue and maybe even a sex scandal or two before it’s all over.

We all know Mitt Romney is not the fiercest fire-breathing conservative out there. The same cannot be said for Rick Perry, as he has made his name by merging his tea party-esque beliefs with a dash of Texan swagger and decent sized helping of charisma. This mix makes his policies and technique look like a George Bush and Michele Bachmann hybrid, which is undoubtedly his biggest strength.

While this has baked up to be an interesting mix for a political candidate, this recipe has its drawbacks. Getting all riled up onstage at debates apparently does not work so well outside of Texas, and it seems that not everyone agrees that social security is a Ponzi scheme. While playing it closer to the chest has propelled Rick Perry onto the stage, it has also exposed crucial mistakes that will hurt his campaign.

Perry’s lack of experience certainly played itself out on the debate floors several times, as Mitt Romney showed his experience in his cautious yet poignant remarks before the other candidates jumped into the fray.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. After experiencing a remarkable climb in the polls, based practically all on rhetoric, Perry will now have to prove his gallantry to the somewhat less enchanted constituents by doing more than just talking. If he cannot provide a more solid platform than just sound bytes, then Romney will easily outlast him. Then again, maybe one of the candidates has some ace up his sleeve. Just like a soap opera during a commercial break, we will have to wait and see.