CPAC Coverage: Getting To Know The Opposition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12441638

On February 12, 2011, the BBC News posted an article entitled "CPAC 2011: Meet the Republican Presidential Contenders". This article covers the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was held in Washington DC on February 10th. Republican presidential hopefuls delivered speeches at the conference, which this article covers from three perspectives; two Republican conference attendees rate the speeches while BBC's Katie Connolly provides her forecast for each speaker's chances of running in 2012. One conference attendee expressing his take on the presenters is Mike Bayham, a New Orleans-based political consultant who has been a delegate at each Republican National Convention since 1996. Charlotte Evans is the other reviewer attending the conference; she is a Republican student activist with a strong interest in energy policy, self-described as a fiscal, pro-life, and federalist conservative.

Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, John Thune, Haley Barbour and Rick Santorum, all spoke, while Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee where noticeably absent from the line-up.

I find this article valuable because it educates me on the Republican Party's developing strategies for the 2012 election. "Know your enemy" is the phrase that keeps popping into my head when I think about why any news highlighting the Republican Party would capture my attention.

This article does a great job of covering the speeches from three different perspectives; each person reports their opinions on the areas of the speeches that were most notable to them, from healthcare, energy, national spending, defense and the economy. I like each person's candid take on the presence, personality, and delivery of each contender - image is something that can certainly factor into votes. While the two attendees obviously have Republican agendas, Katie Connolly brings the insight of a journalist in touch with varying factors playing out in the media regarding these political figures. I especially enjoy the layout of the article, with a number rating system providing a summary of the reviewers' perspectives. This article puts Mitt Romney in the lead, with much credit going to his ability to engage his audience. One to watch, one to defeat.

I was not surprised to see Sarah Palin absent from this event. She has built an ice castle for herself somewhere in fantasy land, where she controls all elements surrounding her spoken word. If you can't tell a reporter the name of just one newspaper you read, I guess there are acres of topics that are liable to make you look really stupid. Let's just hope the American public doesn't fall for this highly sanitized portrayal of the Great American that Palin is trying to create inside a bubble void of much needed criticism.