As planned, late Tuesday night the GOP confirmed Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, as the party’s presidential nominee. At the party convention in Tampa, Florida, 2,061 delegates voted for Romney, whereas an official Republican nominee needs to have support of at least 1,144 votes. Thus, this November the incumbent president Barack Obama will run against the 65-year-old Mormon millionaire. Obama is to be officially nominated for the second term next week, at the Democratic Party’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The delegates also confirmed the core values of the party platform: tax breaks, and bans on same-sex marriage and abortion. The speech of Romney’s wife was the highlight of the second day of the convention. Ann Romney would not begrudge eulogy to her husband: “But let me say this to every American who is thinking about who should be our next president:
“No one will work harder.
“No one will care more.
“No one will move heaven and earth like Mitt Romney to make this country a better place to live!”
On the first convention day the speakers focused on Obama’s inefficient running of the country, urged to call off the president’s social reforms, and hoped that Romney would restore lawfulness to the White House. Romney’s own speech is scheduled for today.
As far as foreign policy goes, the Republicans include the Russian Federation among America’s opponents, and mention Russia together with other traditional rivals, alongside with North Korea, Iran, and China. “The current Administration has responded with weakness to some of the gravest threats to our national security this country has faced, including the proliferation of transnational terrorism, continued belligerence by a nuclear-armed North Korea, an Iran in pursuit of nuclear weapons, rising Chinese hegemony in the Asia Pacific region, Russian activism, and threats from cyber espionage and terrorism. In response to these growing threats, President Obama has reduced the defense budget by over 487 billion dollars over the next decade and fought Republican efforts to avoid another 500 billion dollars in automatic budget cuts through a sequestration in early 2013 that will take a meat ax to all major defense programs,” reads the GOP Platform.
Polls show that Obama and Romney enjoy almost equal support among the voters. However, the incumbent president is believed to be more likely to win over the hesitant electorate.
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THE DAY asked Ukraine’s former ambassador to the US Oleh SHAMSHUR to comment on the course of the presidential race in America, analyze Romney’s team, and assess the seriousness of his statements about Russia.
“If the GOP team includes people of such scale as, say, Robert Zoellick [former president of the World Bank. – Author], then it is a clear sign of the team’s high level, and it will be an advantage for Mitt Romney. However, this will hardly boost his chances in the race and become a decisive factor in the election campaign. Everything will depend on the state of American economy on polling day. It should be remembered that Zoellick and other Romney team members are well-known in expert circles close to politics. For an average voter this hardly matters much, at least now.”
Romney’s opponents from the Obama camp accuse the Republican nominee of concealing taxes, as he will not agree to publishing his tax returns for the last two years – which John McCain did before the 2008 election. How much can this affect Romney’s chances to win this election?
“This indeed is an important psychological moment in the light of political technologies. A voter must feel sure that a presidential candidate pays his taxes punctiliously, just as the voter does. This is important, and affects the course of the election campaign. However, I do not think this is going to pose a serious problem for Romney. I reckon he will find some solution. It appears from his statements that he is ready to publish this information, but he does not find it appropriate to publish his tax return for the last decade.”
What can you say about the role of likability as a factor in this election?
“This is one of the greatest challenges for Romney as a presidential candidate. Although his opponent, the current master of the White House Barack Obama is now exposed to harsh criticism, the likability factor benefits him. As a person, he still enjoys the citizens’ support.”
Many experts remark that Romney and his mate Paul Ryan are not knowledgeable enough about foreign policy.
“I do not think this will play a substantial role in the election. The same was said of Obama in 2008. Taking Biden as a mate helped him balance the situation. However, foreign policy is unlikely to be a major factor in this election – only if the Iran problem should exacerbate. The previous election campaign revealed that it was not a decisive factor. Nor will it become essential now, in 2012.”
How seriously should Romney’s statements be taken about Russia as America’s geopolitical opponent, whereas the Republican Platform confirms Russia as a rival, although “major geopolitical enemy” is not mentioned?
“Romney stays within the framework of the GOP rhetoric. Recently, after becoming the opposition party, their politics and attitude towards Russia have been quite harsh. I do not think this standpoint is essential in the context of the election and presidential race towards the White House.”
American media are astir with the discussion trying to classify Romney and determine what he is, a realist or an idealist. What is your opinion, given that in case of winning the election, he promised to appoint business representatives to key positions?
“Frankly, one cannot answer the question without having a closer personal acquaintance of Romney. Personally I tend to perceive him rather as a realist than an idealist. Of course, he has his own personal convictions. It is important to keep in mind that he is a Mormon. Mormons’ life philosophy is quite clearly defined by the very fact of their being members of their church. But in life and in church matters Mormons are realistic.”
Could we say then that Romney’s statements concerning Russia can be accounted for by his realistic standpoint? This distinguishes him from George W. Bush, who is generally considered to be an idealist.
“George Bush Jr. was rather an ideologist than an idealist. He had his own worldview, which was shaped under the influence of people like Condoleezza Rice. Moreover, he tried to implement this program. It is still too early to say if Romney will implement his, should he be elected president. Still, so far he has been a pragmatic and realistic man. Certainly, like any other politician, Romney has his own vision and his own principles. It seems to me that if he wins, he will implement his policy in a realistic and pragmatic key.”
According to American media reports, in the course of this election campaign Obama has spent more funds than Romney. Meanwhile, the latter had raised more money. In 2008, everything was just the opposite: Obama had more money than his rival, John McCain. How can the money factor play in this election, and what can you say about the overall course of the presidential campaign in the US?
“Until now, negative advertisement has prevailed. Many were surprised by this, given the economic situation and the keeping of election promises. I believe Obama has set a negative tone to the campaign. So far, this campaign has been harsh, and sometimes dirty. Certain statements go beyond American standards for what is allowed in electioneering. Unfortunately, it has failed to become a campaign of debate on the problems which worry Americans, from a dynamic economic viewpoint.”
This is exactly what Romney’s team insist on.
“They do. Ryan’s appointment followed from Romney’s desire to change the discussion to more serious. However, this never happened.”
What about the role of money?
“Of course, in America it is a very important factor. At a certain stage it will be decisive. Money allows a candidate to offer as much political advertisement as they need.”
Which of the two presidential candidates would be better for Ukraine, for the development of bilateral relations?
“It is too early to say. The candidates’ platforms matter little for us, given that foreign policy is not top priority in this election campaign. Speaking of the US, it is not its policy that matters for Ukraine, but our own foreign policy. This comes first, and once it is clear, we can consider the rest.”
