The race is on, and presidential candidates are hitting the campaign trail hard.
According to Dr. Paul Lenchner, professor and head of the department of political science, and Dr. Charles Elliott, professor of political science, the economy is the central issue of this year’s campaigns.
“A year ago, it would have been the war in Iraq, but since Baghdad is mostly pacified, fewer Americans are dying and the media isn’t covering it as much. It’s become less of an issue,” Elliott said. “The economy is not well, so it’s becoming the primary issue.”
According to Elliott, many elections have turned on economic issues in the past.
“Voters tend to vote retrospectively,” Elliot said. “If the economy has flourished during an administration it is usually good for the incumbent and his party, and if it’s not good that party will likely struggle.”
Other issues that have taken center stage on the campaign trail have been immigration, the war in Iraq, and health care, but candidates across the board are focusing on they believe to be their strengths for their campaigns.
“In the democratic race, both candidates are stressing their differences from Bush,” Lenchner said. “Among the republicans, all are stressing their conservatism.”
Both Lenchner and Elliott give credit to democratic candidate Barack Obama for taking on a front-runner such as Hillary Clinton and doing quite well.
“He’s run his campaign quite remarkably. He’s attracted the attention of lots of people and even managed to energize the younger voters,” Elliot said.
Lenchner also gives credit to republican John McCain for bouncing back after being thought “politically dead” less than a year ago.
Elliot agrees, “He’s come back from somewhere and has done a lot on sheer personality.”
Another surprise in the race is the success of republican candidate Mike Huckabee, who Elliott said many find appealing because he looks and sounds like a regular guy and is very personable.
Lenchner said, “He’s probably the biggest surprise and has been running well with relatively modest resources.”
Elliott finds several things interesting about this election. The first is that usually the Republican Party has an “heir apparent” that the party can rally behind for the nomination, but this year that is not the case.
“But perhaps the most interesting thing in this election is that there is a wealth of talent on either side,” Elliot said. ” Usually as of Super Tuesday we’d know who was getting the nomination, but as of right now we don’t. It’s one of the most interesting elections I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been following them since childhood.”
According to Elliott, at this point in the race, the Democratic Party nomination could go to either Clinton or Obama, and the most likely Republican candidate is McCain. However, he will offer no presidential election predictions.
“Often what people want in a president is someone who seems normal and ordinary but possesses extraordinary talent,” he said. “And there is no shortage of talent this time.”