Pawlenty: Expect U.S. campaign to turn negative

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Anne McGinn 
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Elizabeth Boswell Rega
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BRUSSELS (March 25, 2012) – The seventh Brussels Forum wrapped today with a panel discussion on the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Former Minnesota governor and Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, now co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s campaign, warned that the general election campaign will be a negative one.

"If Barack Obama wants to be re-elected, he needs to attack Mitt Romney," he said, "he can't be re-elected for what he has done." He went on to say that current approval numbers indicate that "Obama is in the danger zone for an incumbent."

Still, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), said that Obama on the ticket offers Democrats a significant advantage over Republicans, especially in efforts to maintain control in the Senate and win back control in the House of Representatives.  "We have great candidates," she said.  She also said that "Republicans have been terrible on issues that affect Hispanic-Americans," a large part of her Southern California constituency.

Brussels Forum is an annual conference on transatlantic relations organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and attended by heads of state, officials from the EU institutions and member states, U.S. officials, congressional representatives, parliamentarians, and academics.

Laura Blumenfeld, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a former Washington Post reporter, agreed with Pawlenty, saying that President Obama would have to convince voters that they are better off continuing his policies than bringing in radical change. "In 2008, Obama was elected on hope," she said. "In 2012, he would have to be re-elected on fear."

Blumenfeld also said that American voters cared more in this election cycle about electing someone who could address the problems they faced in their day-to-day lives than about likeability. "This is the year of the problem-solver," she said. "Americans don't want to have a beer with the guy. The beer is warm; the fridge is broken. They want a guy to fix the fridge."

The forum concluded with the presentation of the second-annual Brussels Forum Young Writers Award to John Schellhase of New York University and Thomas Gietzen of  Universität St. Gallen for their essay on the future of the transatlantic relationship, “Rebuilding Together: The Renewal of Transatlantic Leadership in the Global Economy.” The Young Writers Award is an opportunity to showcase innovative thinking on issues that shape tomorrow’s transatlantic relationship and how the next generation of leaders can address 21st century challenges.

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Brussels Forum is an annual conference on transatlantic relations organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and attended by heads of state, officials from the EU institutions and member states, U.S. officials, congressional representatives, parliamentarians, and academics. Major support for Brussels Forum comes from Daimler and the Federal Authorities of Belgium. Additional sponsors include BP and OCP Foundation. Further support comes from the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, the European Union Delegation to the United States, the European Liberal Forum, the Centre for European Studies, BNP Paribas Fortis, NATO, the Republic of Turkey Ministry for EU Affairs, and Intesa Sanpaolo.

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