Having been cast to the wayside in a way that it hadn’t been during the previous two presidential elections, eleven years after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, the topics of National Security and Terrorism have made brief cameos on the campaign trail.
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns respond to what voters are looking to hear at any specific time, and, as can be seen, Americans are concerned about the economy and all of the issues that come with it (job creation, taxation, etc.). This is the first election since 9/11 where voters have not been primarily concerned with national security and/or terrorism. Since the 2008 recession that sent stock prices plummeting and Americans scrambling, American focus has shifted away from security issues.
In the past two elections, the presidential winners have largely won on their ability to convince Americans that they, as president, would be more able to protect the American people against another attack. With George W. Bush’s 2004 re election, he beat out Democrat, John Kerry who was seen as being “soft” on security. By the end of those four years, the country had become weary of the two wars and the lack of progress on either front. During the 2008 election, Barack Obama won in no small part because of his opposition to the Iraq War that had been so poorly handled by his Republican predecessor. Despite his opponent, Mr. McCain’s, portrayal of Mr. Obama as being too weak to protect the nation, Americans had decided that withdrawal from the war would take precedent and the former military man, Mr. McCain, lost the race.
Obama’s campaign has been targeting voters in two ways on national security. In the first way Mr. Obama has been reaching out to traditionally right leaning war veterans and their families in an endeavor to show that his policies would best benefit them, mainly in the form of social services. There is then Vice President Joe Biden, whose son served in Iraq, who has been highlighting the human costs of the wars to a public that is increasingly disenchanted. Mr. Obama also has the Navy Seal raid of last year that killed Osama Bin Ladin working in his favor along with the fact that he has wound down both unpopular wars. This strategy has proven successful as Mr. Obama is currently polling ahead of Romney on these issues.
This is where there is a noticeably absent stance from the Republican side, who are typically stronger in areas of national security and terrorism. Briefly mentioning the troops in Afghanistan during last month’s speech accepting the presidential nomination, Mr. Romney has yet to say much of substance on the matter. Mr. Romney also differs from former Republican candidates and elected officials in that he does not have a military background. Past candidates have found this to be a selling point so Mr. Romney must rely on other strengths, foreign policy so far not being one of them.
Despite the respective strengths and weaknesses of either candidate on national security and terrorism, it will likely not be a huge concern for their campaigns as the economy is and will continue to be the main focus.
So, we come to look at 9/11/2012. The day was marked by an overall lack of political attacks with the exception of a remark by the Romney campaign late last night, responding to an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Angry mobs and gunman attacked and set fire to the consulate, killing US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others. This consulate was the second site of anti-American uproar yesterday since news of a private American film insulting Mohammad spread and inflamed tensions. Crowds of Arabs upset by this video are still protesting outside of the US embassy in Cairo, Egypt. The Obama administration denounced Mr. Romney’s comments by saying, “We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack.”
October will be when we begin to see a more concrete version of the candidates’ views. Four presidential election debates are scheduled throughout the month and will focus on both foreign and domestic issues, including national security and terrorism. Until then we can expect vagueness and ambiguity as both sides seek to steer clear of the political pitfalls the topics tend to accompany.
Image: (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
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