Say That Again, Rick Santorum

About a week ago, rhetorical genius and 2012 presidential candidate, Rick Santorum, may have made a crucial error in his campaign.  During a speech he was giving in Wisconsin, he said something that sounded just like the “n” word, while referring to President Obama.  He is quoted saying Obama was an “Anti-war government,” followed by a word that sounds awfully similar to “nig..”  To make matters worse, after his possible slip-of-the-tongue, he stutters and loses his composure.  However, Santorum denies the accusations.  He says, ““I looked at that [video] and I didn’t say that.”  Whether or not we ever know for sure what he intended to say, this brings up an important issue: presidential candidates constantly bash each other.  Much too often, we hear the candidates throw low-blows at each others’ personal lives and minimal attention is actually given to the topics that matter. 

Although these candidates are rich of not only money, but also persuasive strategies, I’m finding it difficult to trust their characters.  Day after day, we find out more about their personal lives.  In this particular election, lots of digs have been made at Newt Gingrich’ for his marital history to his formal high school teacher, and at Ron Paul because of his older age.  These things have been pointed out too many times to count.  Although these arguments may entertain our curious sides, they should not be given nearly as much attention as they are.  During presidential debates, each candidate has a limited amount of time to speak and/or rebuttal the points they choose.  Therefore, they should not waste their precious time on personal factors that may or may not matter to voters.  I understand that we have the right to know some specific aspects of their lives, which helps us make decisions as voters, but the point is that they need to choose their battles wisely.    

Voters would most likely have much more respect for the presidential candidates in this election if they kept it strictly professional.  Ideally, politicians would always remember to stay focused on the things that matter, like issues of war, foreign policy, and immigration, just to name a few.  More than anything, we would like to gain an understanding of each candidate’s views on these issues, not on their personal differences.    

Ultimately, unintended word choices and/or insults, preferably ones that are clearer than Santorum’s, can be beneficial in some ways.  If he did intend to say that word, people would see him differently.  The insults that they throw at each other give us a sense of these candidates’ true characters.  As for now, innocent until proven guilty, right Rick Santorum?