Retail campaigning still works
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at USA Furniture and Bedding (Dec. 28, 2011) Credit: AP
With Iowa in the books, the race for the Republican presidential nomination is finally under way. The first contest sent one candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, back home, and all but crippled Texas Gov. Rick Perry's campaign. It also told us a few things about the state of politics, and of the Republican Party.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum showed retail politicking can still work, missing first place by a mere eight votes after focusing every ounce of his energy in Iowa. That hand-to-hand campaigning, reinforced by more than a dozen televised debates, can still compete with fat wallets is refreshing.
While the numerous debates were often mocked, they allowed Santorum, and to some extent former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who finished fourth, to share their messages even as their campaigns struggled financially. A heavy debate schedule may turn out to be the best weapon against the untrammeled power of money in elections.
Of course, money -- not to mention the Holy Grail of "electability" -- still matters. Thus, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney grabbed a slim win over Santorum, spending millions of dollars but little time in the state.
And ideas count, too, particularly to young, energetic voters. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas capitalized on this, losing by just a few points. Paul built a large organization over the past four years, but it's his call to drastically diminish the role of federal government in America, and American involvement in other nations' affairs, that's garnering support.
The real lesson of Iowa is that three men with such different visions can capture so much love within the GOP. The party, united in its desire to unseat President Barack Obama, is unsure what to replace him with. Analysis and predictions are flooding the airwaves, but declaring a winner now, with the race this fractured, would be like crowning a champion two minutes into the Super Bowl.
There are plenty of debates and primaries left for the Republicans to unify behind a candidate and a platform that represents it. And that's what the party must do to offer voters the clear alternative to Obama's leadership it's been promising for three years.
