Into Mitt Romney's General Campaign

In order to win the 2012 Presidential election, Mitt Romney needs to win Florida’s 29 electoral votes. If Romney does not carry Florida, he must win all of the swing states (Ohio, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, Iowa, Virginia, and Colorado) in order to reach 270 electoral votes. With this knowledge in mind, the Romney campaign needs to focus heavily on persuading the Florida electorate specifically Independents, who make up 24% of the electorate and can easily swing the election to the right or left,^[1] and Hispanics, who make up 22.5% of the population during the general election cycle.^[2] Since Florida’s panhandle leans Republican, and south Florida leans Democratic, central Florida, otherwise known as the I-4 Corridor warrants the most attention from the Romney campaign because there is more room for persuasion as no ideology holds a strong majority and Independent voters will decide the election in nearly every county in the area.[3] Substantively, Mitt Romney needs to continue to emphasize the economy, as Florida’s unemployment rate is 10% higher than the national rate, and the security of Medicare, since it is the second most important issue to Florida voters in this election.[4] Additionally, the Romney campaign needs to run a balanced campaign that simultaneously values his substantive plans about the economy and Medicare, and his compassionate personality, which is increasingly being revealed though anecdotes narrated by his various surrogates. Mitt Romney will win Florida if he matches, or exceeds the ground level enthusiasm and support President Obama has, increases his support with Hispanics by targeting effectively, increases his support with Independents, performs well in the debates by persuading voters that he is the candidate that can fix the dreadful Florida economy, and avoids any detrimental gaffes that would distract his campaign.    

            Entering the general election cycle, Mitt Romney had 47 field offices in Florida, the bulk of which were situated on the central west coast of Florida around Tampa and St. Petersburg.[5] The dense Romney presence on the central west coast is strategic because in 2008’s Presidential election, the margin between McCain and Obama in the central west coast never exceeded more than 12 percentage points.[6] Exemplified by the 2000 election between George Bush and Al Gore, every vote counts in the volatile swing state of Florida, so, grassroots efforts should not be underestimated in Romney’s campaign. Political Scientist Donald Green says “research has shown that face-to-face talk increases a voter's chances of turning out by 7 to 10 percent. If a campaign talks to a third of its hoped-for voters, it can expect to see a 3 percent boost at the polls.”[7]  Romney’s abundance of field offices in the I-4 Corridor covers ground that Romney was not able reach because of retail campaigning, and frankly, a lack of time. Grassroots campaigning becomes important in a region as diverse as the I-4 Corridor because community organizers and the local Republican Party can tailor Romney’s message more effectively to a smaller, more defined group of constituents than retail campaigning can.

            The Romney campaign has been neglecting small swing counties in the panhandle and south Florida, but this may be to the campaigns detriment. Presumably, the Romney campaign is not putting field offices in small swing counties because they are confident that the density of field offices in the central west coast to naturally spread into the South Florida and there is a conservative majority in the panhandle.[8] However, the Romney Campaign may be making the wrong decision because as of the October 9th deadline to register voters, Desoto County (located in the panhandle) has twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans; potentially, the Romney campaign could be surrendering Desoto County to President Barack Obama. However, on October 27^th, the day early voting began in Florida; Mitt Romney finally hosted a rally at the most opportune time in the strongly conservative tip of the panhandle in Pensacola County. Romney rallied the conservative and military base to create excitement for voting by criticizing the President on his cuts to Navy ships.[9]

            The Romney campaign has maintained a consistent presence in Florida, holding campaign events with Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Ann Romney, or a Romney surrogate (oftentimes Romney’s sons) multiple times a week. Since the beginning of the general election cycle (after both party conventions), the Romney campaign has held 30 events in Florida.[10]  The counties with the most campaign events held were Duval, Hillsborough, and Sarasota. Duval County was the only county not in the I-4 Corridor that received a significant amount of attention. The Romney campaign was strategic in holding many campaign events in Duval because the county has one of the largest electorates (539,659 registered voters) and the 108,483 swing voters will determine who will win the county.[11]  The aforementioned scenario is commonplace in the 1-4 Corridor, which is why it is absolutely crucial for Mitt Romney to aggressively campaign in this region of Florida. [12]

            Ann Romney plays a crucial part in campaigning for her husband by speaking at Women for Mitt Rallies all around Florida, visiting the Women’s Cancer Center in Tampa, and reading to children at local hospitals. Mrs. Romney even co-hosted Good Morning America for a week, a role a Presidential candidate’s wife has never filled before. Speaking at local fundraisers and rallies coupled with national media attention Ann Romney is slowly but surely increasing her likeability, which has jumped 12 points since April,[13]however she has not been as successful in her concerted attempts to “humanize” her husband, who has had a stagnant favorable rating of 48%  since September 3rd.[14]

            Paul Ryan has not held as many events in Florida as Mitt or Ann Romney, but his mother, Betty Douglas has made up the difference by making appearances at local field offices in Fort Lauderdale to canvass voters via phone. Mrs. Douglas has also assumed the role of a Medicare poster child, as Congressman Ryan frequently reassures voters that, “we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my Mom’s healthcare or your mom’s healthcare […] It’s what my Mom relies on.”[15] As Medicare is still the number two issue in the election according to a sample of Florida voters, Paul Ryan’s reassurance that Medicare is here to stay is not a message that seems to resound with many Florida voters.[16] As the Mitt Romney’s campaign gets deeper into the general campaign cycle, they seem to be abandoning their Medicare talking points, since none of the television ads aired since September 27^th in Florida have mentioned it.[17]

            The most notable surrogates that have been campaigning for Mitt Romney in Florida are Senators John McCain and Marco Rubio, and newly Republican congressional candidate Allen West. What is important about the three aforementioned public figures is their appeal. Senator John McCain can energize the strong conservative Republican base and speak with credibility about foreign policy (an area where Mitt Romney has not had the best success), while Senator Rubio can draw in Hispanics by connecting with them in a way that Mitt Romney cannot seem to do, and Representative Allen West can appeal to independents, as a man who has been on both sides of the political aisle. Appropriately, Senator McCain campaigned for Romney in the strongly Republican panhandle of Florida.  Young and energetic Senator Rubio campaigned with Craig Romney (the only Spanish speaking Romney son) at Florida International University in Miami, which was entirely appropriate as Mitt Romney needs desperately to appeal to Hispanics, especially in Miami-Dade County. Emboldened after his first debate “win”, Mitt Romney was appropriately introduced by Allen West, a Republican Party neophyte at a rally in Port Saint Lucie, a county where Independents will decide the winner.[18] The Port Saint Lucie rally drew Mitt Romney’s his largest crowd of 12,000 to date, indicating a significant rise in enthusiasm of his supporters as a result of his first debate performance.[19] 

            Substantively, Mitt Romney’s campaign is primarily focused on the economy, which is important in Florida because it is the number one issue for the state’s voters[20] and Florida’s unemployment rate has consistently been above the national average in 2012.[21] In a Patchwork Nation study of unemployment discussion in the swing states of Virginia, Ohio, and Florida, Florida has seen “the hardest times in the recession and the recovery”  and the word “homeless” has occurred twice as often as the other two states, and the housing market is still burdened with many foreclosures.[22] Mindful of Florida’s economic strife, the economy has been mentioned in all of the political ads and speeches made by the Romney campaign. Borrowing a tagline from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 election, the Romney campaign’s main question to voters has been “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” In Florida, this question is resonating with voters because only 40% of likely voters responded with confidence that they were indeed better off than they were four years ago.[23] After four and a half hours of debating President Obama about domestic and foreign policy, Mitt Romney is leading President Obama in Florida 50 to 46,[24] and 51-45 among registered voters in the 1-4 Corridor.[25]

            In regard to targeting of specific groups of voters, the Romney campaign is aware of their lack of Hispanic support, and need to appeal to Independent voters. Since the convention, Mitt Romney has made a concerted effort to appeal to Hispanics by participating in the Univision’s “Meet the Candidates” forum, airing ads in Spanish, or with Spanish subtitles, hiring 13 full-time Latino outreach campaign workers in Florida, and dispatching surrogates to address Hispanic organizations around the state.[26] Romney’s efforts to woo the Hispanic vote have proved to be successful as an October 14^th  poll ( 24 days before the election) taken by Florida International University, Miami Herald, and El Nuevo Herald report that President Obama only leads Mitt Romney among Hispanics in the state by 7%.[27] However, when Cuban-American voters are taken out of the equation, the lead for President Obama grows as Romney’s Hispanic support drops down to 33%.[28] The Romney campaign is certainly dependent upon the Cuban-American enthusiasm to increase Mitt Romney’s Hispanic support, which is why Marco Rubio is a necessary surrogate in this Presidential campaign.

In a Florida poll conducted with 400 Hispanics, half of them reported to knowing an illegal immigrant, and all of them claimed that immigration reform was the second most important issue in the 2012 presidential election.[29]  Part of gaining the Hispanic vote is discussing immigration reform, and Mitt Romney has outlined a plan for immigration that has not been clearly articulated in Florida, only touched on during the first debate. The lasting impression that many voters have of Mitt Romney’s immigration reform has been his call for every illegal immigrant to “self-deport” and his campaign has not done enough to discount the incendiary comment and promote their true plans for immigration reform, which should be one of the main factors in the campaigns’ Hispanic outreach.[30]

            In attempts to win Florida’s Independent vote, Mitt Romney has done what every candidate does upon entering the general election cycle, move to the middle. Romney’s ideological shift was best exemplified during the first debate when he repeatedly emphasized that he would not cut taxes for the “very rich” or raise taxes on the middle class, expand the Pell Grant program, keep some parts of the Affordable Care Act, like covering people with preexisting conditions, and actively seek a simple and efficient track to citizenship for illegal immigrants. [31] In straying from the staunchly conservative views Mitt Romney held in the Republican primaries, he was able to appeal to single issue voters, swing voters, and independents as his lead with likely independent voters grew to 48%, leading President Obama by 5%.[32] To increase Mitt Romney’s swing voter appeal, there is not much else he can do, but continue to boast his bipartisan achievements as Governor of Massachusetts, and present himself as a moderate.

            Since the end of the RNC, the Romney campaign has consistently been outspent by President Obama in Florida, who has spent a total of 25 million in advertising with virtually no contributions to advertising from Super-Pacs.[33]  Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has spent 20 million dollars on advertising since the RNC, but this number is misleading because Crossroads GPS, American Crossroads, Restore Our Future, Americans for Prosperity, and Americans for Job Security have all joined to almost match Mitt Romney’s campaign by spending a little over 15 million on ad spending throughout the general election cycle. [34] The bulk of the advertising in Florida has been justly focused on the I-4 Corridor and less on other regions, like the panhandle, which has virtually been void of any political advertising since both party conventions.[35] To emphasize the message that Mitt Romney, the man who has spent his entire life in the private sector as a business man can fix the economy, and is the best choice for President, the Romney’s campaign needs an cannonade of ads during the last weeks of the election that are targeted towards Hispanics and aired frequently in the I-4 Corridor.

Essentially, the Romney campaign had an image and credibility problem entering the general election cycle, but from October forward (after the first debate) Romney redefined his campaign by emphasizing his economic ideas (the 5 point plan) and taking advantage of the momentum gained after the debate. In the last few days of the election Mitt Romney needs to maintain a consistent presence in Florida, as he has throughout the general campaign season, but also spend time in Virginia and Ohio(the three swing states with the most electoral votes), while sending surrogates to Nevada (where an aggregation of  polls indicate the President and Mitt Romney are statistically tied).[36] In Florida, Mitt Romney must divide his time equally between south Florida, where the Hispanic population is heavily concentrated and in central Florida targeting Sarasota and Hillsborough counties where the independent voters make up about a fourth of the electorate.[37] Mitt Romney’s campaign also must distance itself from Romney’s past “extreme” conservative positions, stress that Mitt Romney is not the an out of touch plutocrat that his opponents perceive him as, but a humble man who understand the trials of the middle class, and lastly fight through the disinformation in the media to relay a cohesive and strong message that the Romney –Ryan ticket will truly be “America’s Comeback Team.”  By efficiently using every resource (ads, surrogates, campaign rallies, and grassroots efforts) at the Romney campaigns’ disposal full force during the last few days of the general election campaign, Mitt Romney will win Florida’s 29 electoral votes which could likely deprive President Barack Obama of a second term in the White House.

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*Email maureenedobor@gmail.com for works cited

What does Coelho's Alchemist have to do with Damien Hirst, MGMT, Eat, Pray Love, & Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage"?

Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. Print.

Paulo Colho’s novel  The Alchemist chronicles the spiritual journey of a young shepherd named Santiago. Initially, Santiago believes that he has achieved his life goal of traveling by becoming a shepherd. Then Santiago has a dream that a child transports him to the Egyptian pyramids to find a treasure and Santiago conveniently wakes up when the treasure is about to be found. Santiago decides to visit a Gypsy to interpret his dream and the Gypsy advises him to seek out the treasure in Egypt. Before Santiago embarks on what he will later know as his Personal Legend to the pyramids, he meets King Melchizedek who teaches him many lessons which will be useful on his journey. The three core lessons that King Melchizedek teaches Santiago are the importance of following one’s Personal Legend through the omens God gives, the importance of faith and positivity, and the danger of fear. Santiago sets out for Egypt and meets a merchant, Englishman, The Alchemist, and most importantly the love of his life Fatima. All of the characters Santiago meets on his journey through Africa are the manifestation of King Melchizedek’s lessons. When Santiago reaches the pyramids and searches for his treasure, he realizes that the treasure he had been searching for was in the journey, not the destination. 

The major theme in The Alchemist is the importance of following a Personal Legend. Paolo Coelho defines what a Personal Legend is through the character of King Melchizedek who says, “It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is” (Coelho 21). In The Alchemist almost every character experiences a roadblock standing in the way of following their Personal Legend. Santiago, the main character thinks he knows what his Personal Legend is and he is mistaken. Santiago faces roadblocks like the theft of his money in the marketplace and negativity from the Crystal Merchant and himself in search of his Personal Legend. The Englishman’s reluctance to try Alchemy, by turning lead into metal fail gets in the way of following his Personal Legend because he becomes stagnant in his journey for a period of time. Lastly, the Crystal Merchant’s insistence on  dreaming about his Personal Legend instead of living it would have held him back if Santiago had not become part of his business (we don’t know if the Crystal Merchant eventually made his dreams reality or not). The comprehensive theme of following Personal is comprised of not only following your dreams, but realizing that there are obstacles one must endure; some people may be mistaken in the understanding of their Personal Legend, some will let relationships, good or bad lead them off course, some will be crippled by fear, and others will simply run out of time to pursue their Personal Legends. When someone has realized what their Personal Legend is, it changes their life because every subsequent action is consciously taken in an effort to achieve their final goal, and any action that is not could be very detrimental. Lastly, when someone figures out what their Personal Legend is, as Santiago did, they mature in the process, learning many important lessons that they may not have learned any other way.

Kennedy, John F,. Profiles In Courage. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. Book.

                Profiles In Courage written by then junior senator John. F. Kennedy from Massachusetts chronicles the political careers of eight American senators who stood courageous in the face of adversity throughout different eras in American History.  Kennedy spotlights John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, George Norris, and Robert A. Taft. The central issue that all of the aforementioned senators battled, among others, was party loyalty versus national loyalty versus personal beliefs. At one time, all of the senators were berated by their constituents for not advancing their beliefs in congress, or shunned by their political party for not adhering to the party’s platform, or lastly they were ostracized for their personal beliefs. All of the senators endured a huge amount of political calamity as most politicians do, but these eight senators stand out in history because they were boldly courageous and did not give up. The senators believed they were meant to serve their country and stood steadfast in their personal calling to serve.

Senator John Quincy Adams stands out as the most audacious senator profiled in Kennedy’s book. John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams’s parents stated that their son was marked for future leadership, “in the cabinet.. a guardian of his country’s laws and liberties” (Kennedy 31). This insinuates that John Quincy Adams was draw to politics from birth, serving the budding United States of America with his bold leadership was Adams’ Personal Legend. Fortunately, Adams realized what his Personal Legend was from childhood and did whatever it took to stay on the path that would help his dream of political future come into fruition. Adams had “a tenacity of purpose, a lofty and inflexible courage, an unbending will which never qualified or flinched before human antagonist” (Kennedy 31).  On account of Adams’ determination, he began his political career in the Massachusetts legislature, then was elected to the Senate where he would face an obstacle that would almost throw him off the course of following his Personal Legend, similar to Santiago in The Alchemist, who becomes disillusioned by the thief in the marketplace and the Crystal Merchants initial negative response to his journey to Egypt. John Quincy Adams received tremendous backlash for voting against his party for the Louisiana Purchase and voting to impose taxes on Massachusetts citizens, among many other heretical actions. Adams relationship with his party and constituents soon became irreparable and Adams was alienated in congress. The alienation resulted in several bouts of depression and extreme self-deprecation, like Santiago, Adams has become disillusioned by others opinions and led astray from his Personal Legend and into a pity party.  Eventually Santiago rises from the cloud of negativity that haunted him by looking at the Urim and Thummin that King Melchizedek gave him.  Adams rise from negativity is spurred by a similar action, he looks at one of his father’s old letters penned to him which states “my advice to you is steadily to pursue the course you are in” (Kennedy 45). By receiving this motivation from his late father, Adams courageously pursues his political career in spite of his alienation and soon becomes President, reaching the pinnacle of his career. If Adams had not experienced the obstacle of alienation, it is unclear if he would have pushed further in his career to become President. Adams’ career goes to show that obstacles in following one’s Personal Legend seem like an inconvenience, a bout of bad luck, but truly they are necessary in order for lessons to be learned that will be beneficial in the future.

Eat Pray Love. Dir. Ryan Murphy. Perf. Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and Richard

Jenkins. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film.

                “Eat Pray Love” chronicles the journey of an unfulfilled woman, Liz Gilbert who divorces her husband and travels to Italy, India, and Bali to discover her true self. Liz Gilbert thought she was living the dream life she had always dreamt of, but she suddenly experiences a “mid-life crisis” and sets off on an enlightened journey where she learns about nourishment, prayer, inner peace, and true love. In Italy, Liz learns to simply enjoy the present moment and appreciate the art of food. In India, Liz is exposed to meditation, which she initially struggles with until she meets a Texan who helps her to relax and be still. Liz’s last stop on her journey is Bali, where she reconnects with a medicine man she met years earlier, meets the love of her life, and learns to finally accept herself and be comfortable in her own skin.

“Eat Pray Love” is essentially the modern, female version of The Alchemist, Liz Garret initially believes that she is following her Personal Legend, but she is mistaken, just like Santiago was in the beginning of The Alchemist. Liz sets out on a journey initially to “find herself”, just as Santiago set out on a journey to find his treasure. What Liz and Santiago are oblivious to in the beginning of their journey is that they already have what they are searching for, which is a lesson that both characters can only learn through their journeys.  The film begins with Liz meeting a medicine man who serves as the catalyst to Liz following her Personal Legend when he  instructs her to “follow her heart,” which is exactly what she did when she returns home and decides to embark on a life changing journey.  Santiago’s quest to follow his Personal Legend was also spurred by a spiritual character, King Melchizedek. Liz and Santiago begin their journeys the same way and meet characters that teach them key lessons on their journeys. For example Liz and Santiago have symbiotic relationships, Liz with the Texan, and Santiago with the Crystal Merchant. Liz is introduced to the Texan in India and he helps her to “move on” from her previous relationships that are taking up space in heart so she can open up and love again. Liz then helps the Texan to move forward and forgive himself for his alcoholic past, both characters learn from each other and grow together, similar to the relationship Santiago has with Crystal Merchant. Santiago teaches the Crystal Merchant that “every blessing ignored is a curse” and the Crystal Merchant teaches Santiago that there is a language without words (Coelho 58).  Both Liz and Santiago come to similar conclusions at the end, however, they both have different concepts of what a Personal Legend is.  At the end of the film, Liz says “If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting….and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you” (Eat Pray Love).  To Liz, her Personal Legend was more about understanding who she was in the past so she could accept herself in the present versus Santiago’s Personal Legend which was about traveling and eventually falling in love.

Hirst, Damien. The Acquired Inability To Escape. 1991. Tate Modern. Web. 12 June 2012. 

         

                The Acquired Inability To Escape, manufactured by Damien Hirst in 1991 is a 2134 x 3048 x 2134 millimeter container made of  Glass, steel, and silicone which contains an office desk, chair, ashtray, and cigarettes inside. The Acquired Inability To Escape is part of a contemporary art project called “Internal Affairs,” also by Damien Hirst which was his first solo exhibition at a public gallery.

                Damien Hirst’s The Acquired Inability To Escape illustrates the danger of fear that prevents people from following their Personal Legends, similar to the crystal merchant in The Alchemist. The sculptural installation displays a desk and chair, indicative of a working environment that is sealed shut by glass and steel. Hirst’s choice to enclose the desk with a steel frame shows how strong the “Inability To Escape” from an unfulfilling work environment is. Steel is one of the densest metals on Earth and in this sculpture it serves as a physical barrier as well as a psychological barrier to following one’s Personal Legend. The crystal merchant in The Alchemist was stuck in his disintegrating business and became content with only the dream of going to Mecca instead of actually traveling there for himself because he was afraid he would have nothing else to live for if he achieved his dream. The crystal merchant has acquired the “Inability To Escape” because he is held hostage by his own fear. The title of the sculpture is open to the interpretation that the fear of escaping from a secure occupation is an acquired belief brought on by forces like society, family, and sometimes even oneself. King Melchizedek from The Alchemist supports this belief when he says “ ...as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend”, therefore people become negatively influenced by beliefs and opinions  from various outlets in their lives and are susceptible to complacency overtime (Coelho 21).

MGMT. "Time To Pretend." Oracular Spectacular. Red Ink Records, 2007. CD.

                “I'm feelin' rough I'm feelin' raw I'm in the prime of my life / Let's make some music make some money find some models for wives / I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars / This is our decision to live fast and die young. / We've got the vision, now let's have some fun. / Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do? / Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute? / Forget about our mothers and our friends / We were fated to pretend. / I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms / I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world / I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home / Yeah I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone / But there is really nothing, nothing we can do / Love must be forgotten. life can always start up anew / The models will have children, we'll get a divorce, / We'll find some more models, everything must run its course / We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end /
We were fated to pretend”

                MGMT’s “Time To Pretend” is about a young adult who is in what he thinks is the prime of his life and is misled by society into following one path and finally realizes he chose the wrong one.

                “Time To Pretend” tells the tale of a young man who has the world at his feet yet and decides to rebel, living the life of a wild rock star, consciously not following his true dreams.  The young man aspires to ‘live fast and die young’ engaging in many risky activities, relishing in his carefree lifestyle. Considering the year “Time To Pretend” was recorded in, the young man’s decision to enter a life of rock and roll is stereotypical and common. Increasing amounts of young adults are sold the false idea that being in the entertainment industry is the best way to have a fulfilling life. Unlike Santiago, who is breaking free from the conventional career of becoming a Priest, the young man in “Time To Pretend” is adhering to the stereotypes set forth in his generation. However, Santiago and the young man featured in the song chose their respective lifestyles because they truly believe that it will bring them happiness and success. The young man described in the song is chasing after a lifestyle that will be ultimately unfulfilling to him. Eventually, the young man becomes stagnant in his life and has completely lost sight of his dreams. Towards the middle of the song the young man seems to be backed into a corner by his lifestyle,”yeah it’s overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute.” The young man is overwhelmed with the fact that he seems to be somewhat stuck in his life. A lesson Santiago learns during his journey is that if you do not learn constantly, you become stagnant, impeding all progress toward discovering your Personal Legend. The young man described in the song is experiencing what Santiago was warned about. The young man has experienced no personal growth, making it difficult for him to even know what his true Personal Legend is, similar to the Crystal Merchant whose crystal shop and dream of traveling to Mecca were collecting dust.

Comparing two versions of "Beauty and the Beast"

Beauty in Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont’s “The Beauty and the Beast” and the heroine in Angela Carter’s “The Tiger’s Bride” embody two contrasting perceptions of a woman as well as two important similarities that transcend the three centuries after Beaumont’s original fairy tale. In Beaumont’s version, Beauty is portrayed as an obedient and appeasing woman. Conversely, the heroine in Carter’s rendition is portrayed as independent and combative woman.  The two heroines’ similarities are displayed in their acts of bravery and compassion in relation to the Beasts. The beauty bravely surrenders her own life for her father, and the heroine in “The Tiger’s Bride” risks her own life when she chooses to advance towards a savage tiger.

Beaumont composed “The Beauty and the Beast “ in the eighteenth century when arranged marriages were commonplace and women virtually had no voice in society. “The Beauty and the Beast” serves as a literary example for women, an example demonstrating that they too could become happy in a forced relationship if they were patient and virtuous towards their husbands, just as the Beauty was. Beauty displays her appeasement of the Beast when he asks to watch her dine and she shudders as she responds, “You are my master” (Tatar 34). Beauty was willing to submit to all of the Beasts requests, suppressing her inner feelings, with the exception of marriage proposal in the beginning. When Beauty’s family falls into poverty, her two sisters, who she does not get along with, make her clean, and do the chores without help. Instead of arguing or even attempting to reason with her sisters, Beauty obeys and takes over the household chores until she goes to live with the Beast. When beauty goes to live with the Beast, she takes a trip home for a week and promises to return to the castle afterwards. Beauty could have easily seen her trip home as a chance to escape and go back to her father, instead, she recognizes that she has offered her life in place of her fathers and obediently stays true to her sacrifice.

 In “The Tiger’s Bride”, Angela Carter seems to broadcast a different message to her audience than Beaumont did in the eighteenth century. “The Tiger’s Bride” suggests that women have the choice to break the stereotype of the compliant woman who existed solely to be looked at as a trophy and answer to men’s wishes through the independent and combative manner of the heroine. For example, the heroine questioned every order she was given by the valet and responded to some requests rebelliously. Most notably, the heroine’s display of rebellion appears when the Tiger asks her to remove all of her clothes and she responds that she would only lift her skirt for the Tiger in a dark and windowless room with a sheet placed over her head. Another distinct characteristic that Carter endows the heroine with is independence. The heroine displays independence consistently when makes her own choices based on her own feelings, rather than submitting to the Tiger or valet before her. When the heroine retreats to her room, the valet brings her jewels to wear and the heroine chooses to throw the jewels at the floor. The heroine’s choice to disregard the jewels is controversial because historically women have been taught to cherish anything that would enhance their beauty such as make-up, jewels, or fancy clothing.

The two heroines do share the common characteristic of bravery and compassion. The Beauty shows great bravery in acting selflessly and offering herself for death to the beast in place of her father. Beauty says “I feel fortunate that I can make this sacrifice, since I have the pleasure of saving Father and proving my feelings of tenderness for him” (Tatar 33). As the youngest daughter, Beauty had much to look forward too; enjoying the rest of her youth, getting married, and having children. However, Beauty sacrificed her future for her father’s life, which is quite an audacious deed. Beauty demonstrates her compassionate nature with the Beast when she sympathizes with him when he begins to self-deprecate. Beauty reassures the Beast that appearance is not everything and that she sees and appreciates the Beast’s kind heart.

The heroine in “The Tiger’s Bride” shows immense bravery in the conclusion of the story when the she advances towards the agitated Tiger who is “pacing backwards and forwards,” presenting herself as an offering and “key to a peaceable kingdom” (Tatar 66). The heroine then transforms into a Lion, symbolizing that she is now equal to the Tiger in society. The dangerous choice that the heroine makes displays her bravery because she is in the presence of the Tiger in his most barbaric state, and she seems to be unafraid that it is a Tigers nature to attack a human. Earlier in the story, the heroine’s compassion of the Tiger is illustrated when the Tiger removes his coverings in presence of the terrified heroine, who is forced to face the appearance of the beast. Amidst the heroine’s fight, she notes that the Tiger “made with his on ferocity to do me no harm” (Tatar 64). As a sign of acceptance, and understanding, the heroine removes her clothes as well, and a bond between the two prevails in that moment. The independent heroine could have easily kept her clothes on, as she staunchly did earlier in the story, but because the Tiger was vulnerable with her, she felt necessary to reciprocate the Tiger’s action.

Beauty in “The Beauty and the Beast” and the heroine in “The Tigers Bride” both possess distinct characteristics, but also significant similarities. Beauty is obedient and appeasing and the heroine in “The Tiger’s Bride” is independent and combative; both stories require their main character to possess qualities that are parallel to the moral of the story. Regardless of the different messages suggested by “The Tiger’s Bride” and “The Beauty and the Beast”, both stories require bravery and courage to be qualities that the leading lady is endowed with.

Foucault and MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular"

Michael Foucault conflates and analyzes the ideas of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, (the three men that are the zeitgeist of nineteenth century thought) concerning various techniques of interpretation. Primarily Foucault focuses on the role of language in interpretation, he comes to the conclusion that language is suspicious in two distinct ways. The lack in the symbolic of language represents a surplus; there is more to language that what is being shown. Secondly, there are other forms of language than verbal language. Foucault then focuses on the result of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud’s interpretation which he believes to be counterproductive in a way that instead of assigning new meaning to “things which did not have any meaning;” in other words interpreting things to mean something else,  they “modified the way in which the sign in general could be interpreted” (Foucault 61). The three philosophers strategy of interpretation all become frivolous in sense because Foucault points out the inexhaustibility of interpretation, which the philosophers acknowledge as well (Foucault 63). The nothingness which interpretation leads to is attributed to two of  Foucault’s theories. The first says, “if interpretation can never be brought to an end, it is simply because there is nothing to interpret” and the second “interpretation finds itself before the obligation of interpreting itself endlessly, of always correcting itself”; essentially, there may be nothing to interpret, as the signifiers have already done it for us (Foucault 65-66).

MGMT’s album “Oracular Spectacular” is often referred to as the second coming of Woodstock in album form  because of the seventies psychedelic influence that drives the album and stage performance. Seventies psychedelic music was inevitably the latent content that contributed to the creation of the album, however, MGMT seems to be interpreting  the Woodstock era’s sounds and societal ideas  to create a new age version. In Foucault’s view of Nietzsche's theories, MGMT’s interpretation is trivial because by virtue of Woodstock existing and there being multiple signifiers to acknowledge its existence, Woodstock has already been interpreted. Furthermore, MGMT’s interpretation  has taken on the “function of concealing” what the influence of Woodstock actually is because the signs are in nature, concealing. Therefore the interpretation of the already deceiving signs become even more beguiling. The product of all the deceiving results in replication. MGMT’s interpretation of Woodstock created yet another “definition of all of the possible types of resemblance” of a signifier(Foucault 60).  

Freud's "On Dreams" & MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular"

Sigmund Freud’s “On Dreams” poses two salient questions concerned with dreams; why they exist and what their significance is. From the opening  chapter through chapter eight, Freud establishes the concept of the dream work, which is everything inside the dream; the manifest. Chapter eight identifies the most significant “special achievement” of the dream work as displacement which is the “transvaluation of psychical values” from the latent to the manifest (Freud 56). Freud’s concept of repression, an “inadmissibility to conscious” is ostensibly the reason why the dream work includes displacement as a way to distract the dreamer and disguise the vital meaning of the dream resulting in the dream’s distortion (Freud 57). In chapter nine, the theory that dreams show the future is expounded on by further analyzing wish fulfilments in the three types of dreams (logical dreams, where the manifest and latent coincide peacefully, illogical dreams, and seemingly irrelevant and mundane dreams). Freud posits that dreams show us the “future which we would like” in logical dreams, repressed and odious wish fulfillments in illogical dreams, and simple repressed wishes in the last category of mundane dreams. Chapter ten and eleven elucidate that the repressed thoughts from the unconscious move furtively into a dream because the censorship in the conscious is partially relaxed. The alert piece of the conscious creates a compromise with the unconscious to keep the dreamer asleep by appearing to fulfill the repressed wish; the conscious acts with resignation this way. Freud labels dreams as the guardians of sleep due to the conscious and unconscious middle ground. Chapter twelve introduces that most dreams that adults have are erotic wishes after analysis of latent content. The erotic dreams Freud is referring to are disguised by the faculties of displacement and distortion. Common symbols in dreams such as a room represents the  orifices of a womans body. Conversely, Freud claims it is difficult to tell without doubt what content of the dream is to be interpreted “symbolically or in its proper sense” (Freud 73). “On Dreams” ends with the acknowledgement of the dream works important contents and the yearning of further examination to confirm or disprove Freud’s theories.

MGMT’s debut album, “Oracular Spectacular” lyrically and aesthetically reeks of 1970’s psychedelic influence sung through the mouths of two millennials who could not be further from the counterculture of the 1970’s. In Freudian terms, the manifest, which is the actual content of the album represents a particular penchant for an unorthodox lifestyle; an aversion to any aspect of conventionalism. MGMT’s blatant desire to advance unorthodoxy is comparable to Freud’s theory of displacement and repressed wishes. What may seem to be the obvious message of “Oracular Spectacular”  is a distraction from the desires of the unconscious. To further understand the repressed thoughts that contributed to MGMT’s album, an analysis of the latent content that created the album is necessary, just as the previous events and childhood memories are crucial in understanding a dream. The album itself is the first point of analysis. The album title is, “Oracular Spectacular” ironically (or not) denotatively translates to “enigmatic music,” which is a phrase that seems to speak more to the album art than the content. The album cover appears to be a hybrid between Native-American  and cave-dwelleresque attire; certainly a feeling of indigeneity emanates from the art that creates a disconnect in relation to the actual musical content. The disconnect between album art and content may actually be elucidated through common symbols that could be indicative of a certain idea, this is a how Freud makes sense of dreams.The musical content often has lyrics that reject a stable lifestyle for example  “Yeah it’s overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?” or “..Or even scare the children off my lawn, giving us time to make the makeshift bombs”. Freud would interpret the obvious as a cover for the repressed that lives in the unconscious. The message in MGMT’s album is covered, and underneath are the thoughts which have become inadmissible to the conscious by means of repression and displacement.

Jean Baudrillard & MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular"

In “Simulacra and Simulation,” Jean The words are all points of data which can be reorganized to create individual messages. The words are all points of data which can be reorganized to create individual messages examines whether meaning is created from information by posing three distinct theories. The first postulates that information does produce meaning with one stipulation, the information must be broken up into niches to ensure easy delivery because it is difficult to disseminate broad ideas. Also, this theory declares that information “exhausts itself in the act of staging communication,” which means that rather than producing meaning, the format and production of information takes precedence over the actual meaning (Baudrillard 80). The second theory separates information from meaning because information is simply data that is not indicative of anything, as comprehensible as a set of numbers. This theory is comparable to the organization of words in a sentence. The words are all points of data which can be reorganized to create individual messages. The third theory proposes that information affects meaning by destruction or neutralization. Meaning takes on a “catastrophic” form because the information absorbs the meaning itself or a neutral form (Baudrillard 83). Lastly, Baudrillard also examines advertising which he concludes to be neutral and hold absolutely no information, but should be analyzed in terms of the aesthetic which can produce meaning (Baudrillard 89).

In exploring the enduring popularity of MGMT’s debut album Oracular Spectacular, Baudrillard’s second theory of information and meaning is useful because the band reuses many themes and cultural references from its musical influences in its most popular songs. By deriving meaning from MGMT’s musical influences to make their own unique songs, they simultaneously created a new set of data to be made meaning out of. The new meaning and themes found in Oracular Spectacular  strike the fine balance of being similar to their influences, yet still novel enough to garner support from grunge rock fans and contemporary alternative rock fans. Baudrillard’s first theory also could apply to Oracular Spectacular’s relevance because information in the album “exhausts itself in the act of staging.” The hybrid of indigenousness and psychedelic vibe  of the album art, band members, and  music videos takes precedence and further encapsulates the actual information which is delivered though the lyrics.

Historical Presidential Elections In Florida

In the past eight Presidential elections, the state of Florida has successfully voted for seven winning candidates to occupy the oval office; it seems as if Florida’s voters have a knack for knowing who the winning candidate will be. Of the seven candidates, three are Republicans and two are Democrats.  Modern history has shown Florida to be a predominantly Republican state, but, the 1996 election of Bill Clinton and the 2008 election of Barack Obama can be identified as outliers. The question that many pundits, pollsters, and journalists are contemplating is whether Florida is displaying a trend of Democratization or whether it will maintain its historically Republican stronghold. The Presidential elections in Florida since 1980 will serve as a resource and reference point to comprehensively understand how the 2012 election will be different from, or the same as previous elections in the state.
                In the 1980 election between Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican Ronald Reagan, the majority of Florida voters, 56%, voted for Reagan, 39% for Carter, and 6% for the third party candidate John Anderson.[1] Reagan won the majority vote and all 17 of the state’s electoral votes.[2]  Although Reagan won in Florida by a margin of 17%, this election was the most divided Presidential election in the state until 2008. The ideology in Florida in 1980 was geographically divided; the eastern section of the panhandle (Tallahassee to Jacksonville) stood the only Democratic stronghold in the state.  The most Democratic counties within that area were Lafayette and Dixie County, which were 56% and 63% in support of Carter respectively. [3] As an incumbent, Jimmy Carter did not have a great advantage because of the weak economy (Florida had a stagnant unemployment rate of 6.4%),[4] the American citizens that were being kept as hostages in Iran, and his democratic candidate, Senator Edward Kennedy who challenged Mr. Carter relentlessly[5]. The Conservative Resurgence, an aggregation of conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and political action committees that emerged in the 1970’s as a response to the liberalism of the 1960s played a pivotal role in the 1980 election because they effectively made the case that liberalism was at work to undermine the family, religious values, national security, and work ethic.[6] Taking into account the region of the United States that Florida is in, southern values (in modern history) have become synonymous with conservative values; therefore, by virtue of Florida’s geography, it was essentially inevitable that the conservative rejuvenation would effectively bleed into Florida.

In the 1984 election, the Conservative Resurgence took full effect in Florida; Ronald Reagan acquired all of the state’s electoral votes and was reelected by the electorate by a 30% margin. [7] Reagan’s Democratic opponent, Walter Mondale only managed to get 35% of Florida’s popular vote. [8] Gadsden County was the only county that voted for Mondale by more than 50%. The demographics of Gadsden County likely contributed to the Democratic majority because they changed dramatically from 1980 to 1984; switching from a white majority to a 60% black majority.[9] In 1984, Reagan was the emblem of the United States “return to prosperity,” even though the prosperity was not shared. Upper income Americans enjoyed tax cuts to stimulate investments, while lower income Americans (those making $12,500 or less) did not feel the booming economy. The economics of the 1984 election year explain the Democratic stronghold in Gadsden County because 46% of the population was earning less than $10,000 per year. [10]

1988’s Presidential election between Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush yielded uncannily similar results in Florida as the 1984 election. Bush received 61% of the popular vote (4% less than Reagan) and all of the state’s electoral votes[11]. Bush charmed voters in 1988 by saying “Read my lips- no new taxes,” and convincing the electorate that Dukakis was weak on crime and national defense in an era of tense relations with Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. [12] The margin between Bush in 1988 and Reagan in 1984 can be attributed to the miniscule, but small emergence of Independent voters in the state and the changing demographics of Florida, particularly the growth of the Hispanic electorate from 1% in 1984 to 12% in 1988.[13]

Fighting for reelection in 1992, George H.W. Bush faced Democratic candidate Bill Clinton and third party candidate Ross Perot. With more equal income distribution in Florida, and generally the same demographics otherwise, Florida should have been an easy win for Bush in 1992 as it was in 1988; however Bush marginally clenched the popular vote by a 2% margin.[14] With only 2% of independent voters in the 1988 election, what was most blindsiding in the 1992 was that 20% of Florida’s electorate voted for Ross Perot.[15]  Three areas in Florida than had not voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1980 made a powerful presence in the 1992 election; the eastern area of the panhandle from Tallahassee to the Palm Coast, southern Florida, from West Palm Beach to Miami, and the small surrounding areas of Tampa.[16]  The trend that has been most prevalent in Florida since 1980 was that income was positively correlated with the Republican candidate, and minority presence in a county seemed to indicate more support for the Democratic candidate. However, in the 1992 election, that trend seemed to be losing legitimacy because Dade and Jackson County were two of the prominent outliers. At the most southern tip of Florida, Dade County who voted 47% for Clinton has gotten progressively wealthier, with the income gap become narrower every election year.[17] Conversely, Jackson County, with almost half of its population making below $15,000, almost had a majority with Bush securing 46% of the county’s vote.[18]  The Democratic governor in 1992, Lawton Chiles also endorsed Clinton, which helped take away votes from Bush.  The most notable observation of the 1992 election was that under four years of the Bush administration, Florida’s unemployment rate when up from a relatively low 5.4% to a shocking 7.6% in November of the Presidential election year, and the electorate of Florida still voted to re-elected him (albeit, by a small margin).[19]

The election of 1996 was relatively the same in Florida when Republican Bob Dole challenged Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton. However, there was a stronger Democratic presence of about 10% more in favor of Clinton versus the previous election year, and the states support of Perot had dwindled from 20% to 9%, indicating that he had only a minor impact on the popular vote. [20]

Since 1980, there has not been an election as highly contested as the 2000 Presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore in Florida. Bush and Gore both received 49% of the popular vote; however, the winner would be determined by who could get all of the electoral votes in the “winner-take-all” system.[21] After a recount, and two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Bush won all of Florida’s electoral votes and became President. Florida’s recount is indicative of the Democratization of Florida, after the 2000 election, the gap between the Republican and Democrat candidates began to dramatically shrink; four years later Bush would win against John Kerry by only 4% of the popular vote, [22] regardless of the swelling unemployment from 3.8% in November 2000 to 4.4% in November 2004. [23]

As the political ideology of Florida’s electorate began to change, Florida became increasingly more diverse; the Hispanic population grew 5% and the Asian population 2%, and those who categorized themselves as “other” grew 2%. [24] The 2008 election paralleled the Presidential election of 1996 when Bill Clinton won Florida for reelection. Republican John McCain challenged Democrat Barack Obama who won Florida by 50%, a larger margin than Clinton by 2%.[25] The most important county in the 2008 election, Hillsborough County (also one of the largest in Florida) voted for Bush by 53% which changed in 2008, voting for Obama by 53%.[26] The slight change in one of the biggest counties in Florida explains why both candidates are campaigning heavily in Hillsborough, specifically Tampa.

  Just as one’s family, distinct life experiences, religious beliefs (or lack thereof), and a number of other factors contribute to a specific political ideology, Florida’s basic demographics and the political leadership throughout the state is a critical indicator of how the citizens will vote. The economy has been a consistent issue in every election since 1980. However, the focus of the electorate on the economy naturally fluctuates depending on Florida’s domestic wellbeing (unemployment and underemployment rate, etc.) in relation to other national issues. In the current election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama Florida has become a frequent campaign stop for both candidates, the location of the Republican National Convention, and a state which houses popular political leaders who serve as surrogates for their respective parties. The aforementioned factors constitute Florida as a battleground state which can either vote to re-elect the Democratic candidate it voted for in 2008, indicating a significant change in ideology of the state, or further perpetuate the penchant for Republican candidates, and vote for Mitt Romney.

The most salient trend in Florida seems to a persistent swell in the percentage of minorities. In 1980 Florida had a minority population of 17%[27], in the latest data reported, 2011, the minority population in Florida is estimated to make up 42.6% of the entire population.[28]  As Florida grows more diverse, the state grows increasingly Democratic, as illustrated by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama’s Presidential elections. However, it is fallacious to posit that all minority groups and individual minorities vote Democratic. For example, there is a massive population of Cuban-Americans in south Florida and out of the total amount of Cubans in Florida today, 12% entered between 1980-1990; a period when south Florida voted for Republican Presidential candidates in three consecutive elections[29]. The aforementioned evidence of a strongly torn Hispanic vote is becoming less credible due to the latest Survey USA poll showing President Barack Obama leading Romney by 16 points among Cubans, and non-Cuban Hispanics 36 points.[30] 

Undisputed evidence does show that a strong minority emergence in Miami-Dade county seems to contribute to the amount of people registered to vote, as of July 2012, just over one million people are registered to vote, most of them are registered Democrats, which indicates a change in ideology relative to 1980, when Dade county was strongly Republican.[31] Another important county is Hillsborough County (the home of the Republican National Convention for good reason), which has 705,000 people registered, and Democrats lead Republicans by a narrow margin of 53,000.[32] Hillsborough County will be a significant county for either party to win because it is one of the biggest counties in Florida with the most registered voters. In total, Florida is home to 4,147,530 registered Republicans, 4,593,324 registered Democrats, and 2,742,607 voters registered with a minor party or no party (Independent voters)[33]. Independent voters are absolutely crucial in Florida; especially in counties like Volusia, St. Lucie, Seminole, and Putnam, where Independents make up more than a third of the electorate.[34]

In the past few years, a trend has emerged with Republican led state legislatures and their voter ID laws. Republican state leaders have become fearful of voter fraud (which evidence has shown is not a legitimate concern as there have only been 9 cases of “possible
 voter fraud” between 2000-2007) leading to more stringent ID requirements to vote and limited early voting options.[35] Florida has taken an alternative route to voter suppression by  an passing a  law which restricts voter registration by the League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote, and other groups by requiring “burdensome” requirements, and imposing fines for not applying said requirements correctly. [36]  On August, 28, 2012, the District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled for a “permanent injunction” on the strict requirements for voter registration drives. [37]  With the aforementioned ruling, various voter registration groups will be able to register people to vote again, however, they have only about a month to do so before the election. The Florida Times-Union reports that in the months before the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections, “the 13-month period between July 1 and August 1 of election year showed an average increase in registered Democrats of 209,425 voters. Over the same time between 2011 to 2012, registered Democrats increased by only 11,365 voters”.[38] This means that a significantly less amount of the eligible Florida electorate will vote in the 2012 election. With a small margin dividing the number of registered Republicans and Democrats in the state, it is unclear how the roadblocks to voter registration will affect the vote in 2012.

Historically, it has been clear that Florida is an important swing state, where “a small shift in popular vote could swing a large bloc of electors”[39]. In this year’s Presidential election, 29 electoral votes are at stake versus 27 in 2008. In the final stages of the Presidential election, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are logically spending substantial amounts of time in swing states, specifically Florida where a win will provide the candidate with a hefty lead in electoral votes.  With Republicans and Democrats aware of what is at stake, surrogates (from Florida) for each candidate have also been campaigning for their preferred candidate with fire in the belly. Former Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush and newly elected Senator of Florida, Marco Rubio are the most notable surrogates for Mitt Romney in the state because Bush represents a more progressive Republican that will appeal to moderates and Independent voters while Rubio can energize the youth of the Republican Party. On the other side of the aisle, Democratic National Committee Chair and U.S. Representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and an unlikely former Republican Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist are important surrogates for President Barack Obama because Schultz can fire up the base while Crist appeals to Independents and moderates.

Furthermore, local, state, and national officials campaigning on behalf of candidates, specifically in a state as ideologically diverse as Florida can have a small, but significant effect of convincing the electorate; this was illustrated in the 1992 election when Governor of Florida, Lawton Chiles endorsed Clinton. Like most endorsers, Governor Chiles had “clout with a certain constituency” creating legitimacy for Clinton in Florida, just as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama’s surrogates will and are doing in the current general election cycle.[40] Cinching endorsements of leaders in key Florida counties like Pinellas and Hillsborough (newly Democratic counties) will be an important factor in winning the whole state.

In Florida the consistent key issue in every Presidential election is the economy. However, Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick, Paul Ryan has brought Medicare into the limelight claiming his opponents cut Medicare by $716 billion dollars to fund the Affordable Care Act.[41] Even though Ryan’s claims have been debunked repeatedly,[42] Medicare still continues to be a major issue among Florida voters, second to the economy.[43]

Considering the past four Presidential elections in Florida where two Democratic and two Republican candidates carried the state, the outcome of the 2012 election is undoubtedly “up in the air.” Conclusively, in order for a candidate to win the ever divided state of Florida, they must appeal to Independents, minorities (emphasizing Hispanics), and lower income citizens, have convincing ideas about healthcare (specifically Medicare), and a clear message on how to continue progress in the economy.

*email maureenedobor@gmail.com for works cited