Revenge of the Establishment

Published in Berliner Zeitung
(Germany) on 1 February 2012
by Andreas Geldner (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Khaibar Karmand. Edited by Drue Fergison.
Barack Obama can begin early to prepare himself for his opponent in the U.S. presidential election — the odds in the GOP race are in Mitt Romney’s favor. His political success, however, comes at a high price in his own ranks too.

The Republican establishment struck back, and Barack Obama can begin to prepare himself for his future opponent. The fact that the U.S. media immediately went on to look for something to quibble about is typical of Mitt Romney’s hitherto labored campaign.

Surely, it is still at least theoretically possible for much to happen. There were only ten days between the primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, respectively, and Mitt Romney has experienced one of the most unpredictable roller-coaster rides in the history of U.S. primaries. Thus far, only five percent of the delegate votes for the nomination have been distributed.

Nothing Short of a Scandal Can Save Romney’s Opponents

But Romney’s rivals can only be saved by a miracle or full-fledged scandal around the front-runner. After his setback in South Carolina, Romney brilliantly overcame the first major crisis of his campaign. During two televised debates, he succeeded in cutting down Newt Gingrich precisely on the one territory where the demagogue had previously excelled.

As in Iowa, in Florida, too, Romney has now succeeded, for the second time, in discrediting the former Speaker of the House with the help of embarrassing facts drawn from the former’s long political career. In doing so, he exhibited an unscrupulousness of which many people thought him incapable. Is Romney alone the opponent with good prospects against Barack Obama?

The spitefulness in the Republican field came at a price. Romney had to battle his way through his party. His high standing among the voters in general, however, has been damaged by revelations about his wealth and opportunism.


Barack Obama kann sich früh auf seinen Gegner im US-Wahlkampf einstellen - die Chancen für Mitt Romney stehen gut. Aber sein politischer Erfolg fordert auch in den eigenen Reihen einen hohen Preis.
Das republikanische Establishment hat zurückgeschlagen – und Barack Obama kann sich schon einmal auf seinen künftigen Gegner einstellen. Es passt aber zu Mitt Romneys bisher mühsamer Wahlkampagne, dass die US-Medien auch nach seinem bisher überzeugendsten Wahlsieg das Haar in der Suppe suchten.
Es kann in der Tat zumindest theoretisch noch einiges passieren. Nur zehn Tage waren es jeweils zwischen den Vorwahlen in New Hampshire, South Carolina und Florida – und Romney hat dabei eine der heftigsten Achterbahnfahrten der US-Vorwahlgeschichte hingelegt. Erst fünf Prozent der Delegiertenstimmen für die Nominierung sind verteilt.
Nur noch ein Skandal kann Romneys Gegner retten
Aber Romneys Rivalen kann nur noch ein Wunder oder ein ausgewachsener Skandal des Favoriten retten. Nach der Schlappe in South Carolina hat Romney die erste große Krise seiner Kampagne bravourös bewältigt. In zwei Fernsehdebatten ist er Newt Gingrich ausgerechnet auf dem Terrain in die Parade gefahren, auf dem der Demagoge zuvor brillierte.
Und nach Iowa ist es Romney in Florida nun zum zweiten Mal gelungen den ehemaligen Sprecher des Repräsentantenhauses mithilfe peinlicher Fakten aus dessen langer politischer Karriere zu diskreditieren. Er hat eine eiskalte Skrupellosigkeit gezeigt, die ihm viele nicht zugetraut haben. Ist Romney deshalb schon ein chancenreicher Gegner für Barack Obama?
Die Gehässigkeiten im republikanischen Lager hatten einen Preis. In seiner Partei hat sich Romney durchgekämpft. Sein Ansehen bei den Wählern insgesamt hat aber unter den Enthüllungen über seinen Reichtum und seinen Opportunismus gelitten.
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