COMMENTARY | Finally, after months of debating and speculation, Iowa voters were able to weigh in on the GOP candidates on Tuesday, January 3. As reported by Yahoo News on The Ticket, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor was the winner, but only by a mere eight votes over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, both receiving 25 percent of the votes. Texas congressman Ron Paul finished in third place with 21 percent, a few thousand behind Santorum and Romney.
According to the Huffington Post, poll results had shown the three men as early favorites, so while the end result is not all that surprising, the Iowa caucus has highlighted the bottom line in regard to the Republican candidates in 2012. Each time a potential nominee rises to the top, they seem to fall quickly to the bottom when voters learn more about the reality of what that candidate would bring to the White House. Romney is the only one, as of yet, who has not been on that particular ride, and will likely become the candidate that President Obama will have to face in the 2012 presidential elections.
Rick Santorum was at the bottom of opinion polls just weeks ago, and Iowa voters who aren’t happy with Romney’s George H.W. Bush-like qualities apparently didn’t have any other solid choice to go with. Before long, Santorum will likely become another candidate to return to the bottom of the pack.
As recently as August, congresswoman Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll, and Romney was seventh on the list in the supposedly significant contest. On Tuesday, the Tea Party favorite fell to sixth with only 5 percent of the vote. Republican voters may have finally seen the true colors of the three-time congresswoman who knows how to make a speech, but her words often times don’t make any sense when people take the time to hear what she is really saying.
Newt Gingrich had a brief rise to the top not even a month ago, but he fell to fourth, with 13 percent of the vote in Iowa. It didn’t take long for his true colors to show. The man who is on his third marriage, and admitted to cheating on his spouse(s) also purports to have family values, and it’s easy to see that Gingrich is mostly just full of hot air.
Herman Cain was on top of the polls in early November, but he took a dive to the bottom and ultimately left the race amid sexual harassment allegations.
The bottom line is, the Iowa vote has shown the Republicans don’t have much to offer, and it’s unlikely any one of them will be strong enough to beat Obama.