by Craig Ricks

Widener University Student

Looking forward to the November general election, it is still unclear what will be the biggest issue of the campaign.  In the past few months, the economy has slowly bounced back and things appear to continue to rise.  Going along with that, unemployment has been steadily declining and is hovering just above 8% right now.  If this trend continues, President Obama will be able to run on his success of turning the economy around and putting people back to work.  Running on that success would make it an issue that would not be as debatable.  Yes, the Republican candidate will still argue that the President has mishandled the economy, but as of right now, the facts of the situation prove that Obama is doing something right.

So if the economy is not the major issue, what will be?  A lot can still happen between now and November, but two potential issues that could gain traction are overseas affairs, mainly the ongoing turmoil between Israel and Iraq, and President Obama’s health care bill that is currently on trial in the Supreme Court.  If talks between Israel and Iran lead to no positive outcome and Israel’s threats of a strike on Iran turn to a reality, this will no doubt be a major campaign issue.  The entire country will be looking to both candidates to see how they will handle the situation.  The people will want to know what role the U.S. will play, if we will station troops in the region, and if a war could break out.  Each candidate’s opinion on this issue will weigh heavily on the minds of Americans as they take to the polls.  However, if talks persist and lead to a compromise, this will be a non-issue.  The other possible focal issue could be President Obama’s health care law.  The Affordable Care Act is considered to be Obama’s biggest accomplishment as President.  If it were to be shut down by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional, it could be very detrimental to the President’s reputation.  The Republican candidate would campaign against Obama’s failed law, portraying him as weak and attempting to overstep the bounds of the Constitution.  Without being able to run on his biggest accomplishment, Obama could see many votes taken away from him.

With that being said, neither of these two situations have arrived at the point to where they would become the focal point of the election.  There are a lot of “ifs” that would have to happen in order for attention to be taken away from the economy and jobs.  At this point in time, that should be the main focus of the general election unless one of the aforementioned situations arises.