Herman Cain

By Alan Fisher in Americas on January 27th, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Gingrich, left, reaches to shake hands with fellow candidate Romney [Reuters]

There have been 19 televised Republican debates. They have been boring in parts, and repetitive, with the same old arguments and lines trotted out again and again. But they have been hugely significant in shaping the battle for the nomination.

Most people don't follow the day to day movements of every campaign, and so the debates become the touchstone, the place where people tune in, sit back and make their judgements. Here strengths and weaknesses are exposed and campaigns are strengthened or diminished as a result.

Texas Governor Rick Perry was a Republican front-runner, a favourite with the right of the party and a good campaigner. But his candidacy unravelled in 53 seconds during a debate where he stammered and stumbled as he tried to recall the third government department he would close down. 

By Alan Fisher in Americas on November 4th, 2011
Photo by Reuters

Flying across Iowa, the flat fields of corn stretch way into the distance until the handful of tower blocks which mark the centre of Des Moines suddenly loom into view.

In just two months, the Midwest state will, for a short time, become the most important one in the union.

Just three days after the New Year begins, the state's Republicans will gather in caucus to decide who they would like to see challenge Barack Obama for the presidency of the United States.

Yet two months out - what is happening here reflects the state of the Republican party nationally.

There is no clear frontrunner, no obvious winner from a wide and determined field.

The most recent opinion poll - conducted by the respected local paper, the Des Moines Register puts two candidates clearly in front, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney.

By Alan Fisher in Americas on October 19th, 2011
Phot by EPA

The US Republican Party is trying very hard. It wants to beat Barack Obama in the US Presidential  election 13 months from now; it believes with the economy in the mess it’s in, with unemployment rising and people finding every day a little bit harder, that the man who won the last election at a canter is vulnerable. They believe he can be a one-term president.

They just can’t agree who should be the candidate.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has tried before and failed. This time he has led the polls for a while, but still the Republicans cast around looking for other figures who are chased and hounded for days only to announce that it’s not for them this time.

We have flavours of the month. Michelle Bachmann, the Congresswoman from Minnesota, has been very popular with the so called Tea Party activists, the right wing of the Republican movement who so adored Sarah Palin.

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