by Taylor Mitchell

The mud-slinging has begun, and it is not even directed at the Republican’s true adversary. As the GOP candidates continue to rip-apart the Republican Party with their petty ads and unfocused debates, Barack Obama sits in the White House laughing. With the allegations and libel being spewed from the candidates, Obama is saved the hardship of calling them out in the fall. What happened to the days when debates were about each candidate’s views and not about who had an open relationship or one’s tax records? Was it all the way back in 1858 between Lincoln and Douglas for the House race?

When politicians start playing the game of election and re-election, the constituents back home get left in the dust. No longer is it about what the candidate believes in and represents but rather what their other competitors voted for in the 1990s, and the try to psychoanalyze the statement to the point where it does not even make sense. Suddenly one’s statement of “I think English should be the language of America” morphs into “Spanish is the language of the ghetto.” Where does the buck stop and ruling the free world start?

As the Gingrich versus Romney drama continues to drone out the Grand Old Party, a most refreshing comment came from fellow candidate Rick Santorum when he said “Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress and used the skills that he developed as a member of Congress to go out and advise companies — and that’s not the worst thing in the world?” Santorum also encouraged voters to forget “that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy because he worked hard and he’s going out and working hard? And you guys should leave that alone and focus on the issues.”

I think we should all take Santorum’s advice and focus on the issues and forget the rest.