Plagues of Rhetoric [extra credit]

            In the first presidential debate of 2012 Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney continues to speak about the bigger picture and only the bigger picture as it stands today, he avoids getting into specifics and frequently says, “Any claim to the contrary…”/“virtually everything you just said… is simply not accurate.” In the first segment Romney begins the campaign by outlining the economy as it stands today, citing statistical data, painting a picture of how horrible the U.S. economy is and placing blame directly on president incumbent Barack Obama and the policies he has brought to America during his term. Obama attempts to rebut Romney’s claims by countering Romney’s statistical data and bringing to light economic analysis of the platform submitted by Romney and how economic professionals have found Romney’s plan will worsen the deficit.

            Romney chooses to redirect, but fails to satisfy my hunger for an answer. Romney opens his redirect with his favorite phrase saying that Obama’s claims are, “simply not accurate.” However instead of presenting some factual basis or identifying aspects of his own plan to explain how Obama’s information is wrong, Romney dances around the subject with elementary explanations of economics and presents broad pictures of what needs to happen. Not once does he specify how he plans to bring those needs to fruition.

            This is seen throughout the entire debate. I will not say that Romney is lying, but his ambiguous claims make it very difficult for the citizens of the U.S. to make informed voter decisions based on this debate. This is one of the plagues of rhetoric and partly the reason our forefathers began the electoral college, essentially so that informed and intelligent delegates can interpret the needs of their people and ensure that the popular vote is in the best interest of the voters in their district. When candidates use ambiguous rhetoric to dance around issues, presenting their own opinions and elementary definitions, they are sidestepping suspect pieces of their platform because they know they can maintain their own popularity within communities, which favor them by choosing not to divulge aspects of their plan.

            I do not have time to go into it in full detail, but I have the debate playing on repeat in the background and I just noticed Romney mention how Obama has plans and has had four years to bring them to fruition, but failed. No one is talking about the fact that congress, majority of which is republican, has the authority to block the president’s plans. Romney continues to place blame on Obama. Obama has been gentile enough to be inclusive of some of his better ideas and admit that there are areas where he and Romney agree. For me I see Romney as a childish tattle-tale pointing the finger at his brother for tracking mud in the house when he too has mud on his shoes, and I see Obama as being gracious and accepting of the reprimand. Not every citizen would read into it that way, but perhaps it is also my own beliefs creating a lens through which different “truths” are apparent to me.