Mitt Romney formally accepted his nomination for the Republican ticket last week at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. He emerged as the Republican winner in the long primary season, beating out eight candidates to face off against President Barack Obama in November’s presidential elections.
The economy is at the forefront of the campaign issues. More than 90 percent of voters said that the economy was extremely or very important in the way that they will cast their votes, according to a CNN Opinion poll. Policies on immigration, same-sex marriage, healthcare and more are still on the agenda as well.
The race may become more vitriolic and ridiculous in the next three months. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, media coverage of Obama and Romney has been 72 percent and 71 percent negative, respectively.
U.S. Representative and Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan is already in a war with words with Vice President Joe Biden over the President and Ryan’s roles in the bipartisan deficit commission, according to ABC News.
It wouldn’t be an election season without a series of verbal gaffes and embarrassing moments. The Romney camp edited out Clint Eastwood’s now infamous “interview” with Obama – an empty chair – out of an RNC highlight video.
According to ABC News, Romney thought the routine was funny, but other Republicans thought Eastwood’s appearance was a big mistake. President Obama is still a big fan of Eastwood, according to comments he made in a USA Today interview.
Obama will most likely still be defending “you didn’t build that” comments he made at a July 13 rally in Roanoke, Virginia, that stirred up some controversy.
“If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own…If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help, there was a great teacher out there…If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that,” Obama said at the rally.
He will also have to make a case against those saying he has not done enough for the economy as unemployment hovers at 9.1 percent and the national debt predicted to hit $16 trillion, according to Fox News.
The GOP used the national debt as a major theme at the Tampa convention last week. The Democratic National Convention will take place on Sept. 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
