POLITICAL STAKES.

Cain is in trouble, Romney is unelectable, and Gingrich is putting on weight and his being healthy fit has become a question that the media pundits are, or about to explore.

Which brings one to the point that the Republican Party is having a difficult time focusing on who will be its challenger against President Barack Obama in the 2012 general election.

The pool of candidates has some very qualified people, among whom are Santorum, who is young and being a quintessential conservative, Huntsman, who stands out as being a well versed diplomat in Far Eastern affairs, and Bachmann, who can be a magnet for women to throw their support behind the party, in terms of votes.

However, the general membership and most leaders of the party are not even taking a serious look at them. The poll numbers of these candidates keep going down, and the attendance at their meetings on the campaign trail is dwindling day by day and getting smaller and smaller on each occasion.

Yet, that is American politics for you, that if a candidate has no substantial media backing, with editors and reporters writing good reviews about him or her, he or she is of no real value, when the consideration for making him or her a selected choice to carry the banner of the party, is being made.

In any serious political confrontational situation, the media has a vital role to play, but much of their efforts will depend on whether they have a clear cut preference or not; and right at this stage, they are not leaning toward either parties or candidates. There has been no sign of that yet, anyway.

That goes to show how powerful the media and their editorial boards are; as they can even become king makers and sway opinion, public or private, in favor of anyone they choose.

That is how the present political spectrum looks like for the Republicans, and they are going to need their journalistic friends to help them pull the party out from the edge of defeat, and not finding it (party) plodding into the stillness of the doldrums.

There is a lot of talking going on, but nothing is actually happening; and that is pretty foreboding for any political party.

Cain has gone past the idea, or he is about to, that he would be the nominee, due to the nature of the scandalous accusations surrounding him; Romney has only his experience as a governor of Massachusetts and his portrayal as a business magnate, but his flip-flopping from issue to issue has affected his credibility, and Gingrich has a whole baggage of setbacks in his political career, and to get from under that kind of a load would be a daunting task.

Besides, the Republicans are seen as protecting the rich in the United States Congress, by asking for example, the extension of the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy, but denying Obama's payroll tax cut, which will benefit the Middle class and working people; the stakes have, therefore, become very high now.

That will leave the Democratic Party and President Obama no choice, but to take advantage of the opportunity to get a majority in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in the next cycle of elections and to clinch a second term in the forthcoming presidential election.

The Republican Party will have only itself to blame. However, it (party) is still in the fight, but it must not wait too long to get a viable nominee, who can withstand the storms ahead.

As for Independents, they are still sitting on the fence looking in, and they will favor the side that they think has the best interest of the nation at heart.

The bad economy is subsiding, and the worrisome unemployment numbers are also receding; and so the country has a better chance of a brighter future now than only a few months ago; and most Americans are hoping that will continue.