Once upon a time the Democratic nominee election process was seen as a circus, the media’s favourite blood sport, and the equivalent Republican process was seen as an orderly process of succession. Not so this year, in the absence of a Democratic nomination fight. With Dennis Kucinich the only Democrat irrational enough in America, nay, the world, to challenge Obama opting out, the media has attempted to erect a circus tent over the Republican nomination process. And it has worked. The prospective nominees would now not look out of place juggling fire sticks whilst riding on an elephant at the ‘Circ De Soleil’.

The problem this cycle is that in all the polls a generic republican can easily take care of Obama in a general election. However when the generic republican is replaced by a viable nominee candidate such as Romney, Gingrich or Perry, the gap is closed and in some cases Obama leads the nominee. Republicans have experienced a similar scenario to this before and not dealt with it well in the 2010 Nevada and Delaware senate races. Where before Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell respectively were nominated, a generic Republican was comfortably defeating the opposing Democrat in the polls, outside the margin of error. However after the nominations the respective nominees were level with or worse than their democratic challengers in the polls and ultimately went on to lose their races. Did the tea party cost the Republican party two senate Seats in 2010 by preselecting unelectable candidates that were too far to the right? Yes, absolutely, but that is an argument for another time and we must not forget the other factors in the races such as Angle’s flowers for Joy Behar and O’Donnell’s unfortunate Wiccan connection. The lesson here is that Republicans voting in primaries must take a big picture approach and nominate a candidate who does not alienate independents despite tea party yearnings for divisive hard right conservatives who only appeal to 20% of the population.

Why can a generic republican beat Obama in the polls but an actual republican cannot? The answer is simple, every candidate in this year’s race is carrying enough baggage to have to fork out the ridiculous over allowance fees that airlines charge. This has allowed the liberal media to easily erect a circus tent over the race. Romney has Romney-care, Cain HAD sexual misconduct, Perry has his support of Al Gore, Bachmann has her migraines, Hunstman has his previous position in the Obama administration, Ron Paul is just Ron Paul, while Gingrich has more baggage than all the other candidates combined. Be it his climate change advertisement with Congress’ Lucifer, Nancy ‘Drew’ Pelosi, his ‘historical consultancy position’ to Freddie Mac, his infidelity at a time when he was hypocritically calling for Clinton’s head on an impeachment platter or the crushing 1996 midterm defeat that he was ultimately responsible for as Speaker. The question now has to be asked, did Cain and Trump just partake in the race with no intention to win, but just to raise their own profile and therefore putting their interests well before the interests of the party. It would appear that the answer is yes, considering Cain never committed campaign staff to key early states and preferred book signings to campaign events, and Trump’s comical re-emergence into the race, this time under the guise of ‘moderator’ which should immediately be condemned by all candidates. How are we as Republicans, supposed to convince the media to take the race seriously when half the candidates aren’t even serious about running for the Presidency. Add this to the hijacking of the race by the tea party forcing candidates to run so far to the right, making it extremely difficult to steer the ship back to the centre-right in time for the general election.

All this distracts from the main message Republicans should be on, three years of incompetent failed Obama leadership from the Solyndra loan to his attempted alienation of Israel. Joseph Biden warned us back in early 2008 that Obama would be tested, but no one could warn us of the magnitude of his failures. Obama has done enough wrong to be outed, but only if the Republican party, and that means all of the party; from the Ron Paul fringe libertarians to the Jon Huntsman moderates, throw their support behind the eventual nominee. Politics has never been seen as a team game, but this year it is. Republicans must block for their quarterback whoever the coach (you) decides it should be. If it is to be Romney, Rick Perry will have to put behind the bad blood, even after he so aggressively went after Romney during the October 18 Las Vegas debate. The ongoing support of Perry and Bachmann together should deliver Romney enough religious conservatives for victory. If it is to be ‘the Newt’, will Romney, who has desperately wanted the nomination for the last decade be a big enough man to endorse the man who has vanquished him? Romney’s support of the eventual nominee John McCain in 2008 was half hearted and less than satisfactory, it is unlikely that he has become anymore loyal to his party in the subsequent four years. Will Ron Paul fall in line and support the candidate for the good of the party or will he stay in the race until the very last moment and flirt with a third party run. Or will he, as he did in 2008, acknowledge that a republican candidate even if there are some differences of opinion, is still better than MSNBC anchors gleefully announcing the feared phrase ‘President-Elect Obama’ on the evening of November 6, 2012.

Between the remaining men and women in the race, they have the ability to ensure that the next president is a Republican, but only if they all throw their weight behind the nominee. Furthermore the tea party must support a candidate who can win, not a candidate who is the most conservative, and they most definitely cannot stay home on election day if they believe the republican nominee is too moderate. This cycle, a republican who stays home on November 6, is no better than an Obama voter. It was John Quincy Adams almost 200 years ago who said ‘always vote on principle…and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost’. All Republicans must vote on principle in 2012, and that principle being conservative policies no matter how moderate, are superior to the socialist ideals that Obama and Soros aim the reign down on the country and the world.

Obama has tried to crush the crux of the constitution; ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’, but he will be, as Jimmy Carter was, a one term president.