Following in the wake of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney appears to be the favorite of GOP supporters. For now.

Watching the Meet the Press debate held before the New Hampshire Primaries, was depressing. From the onset of the debate, immense pressure was placed on Romney.

Questions from the moderator David Gregory, who I assumed was supposed to remain unbiased, explicitly asked the other GOP candidates why Romney should not be the nominee.

These questions were answered, of course, because what candidate wouldn’t take this softball of a question and attempt to defame their competition? Now to be fair, I don’t particularly care that it was Romney that these attacks were levied against. If it had been any other candidate, I would still have brought up this argument. Rather, my problem lies with these acts of mudslinging alone. The Republicans have a long and difficult road ahead of them. Whomever is selected as the nominee to run against President Barack Obama will have his work cut out for him.

That person will be facing an incumbent who, despite ups and downs in his current term, still has support from the American people. For this reason alone, the GOP nominees need to refocus, cut the smear campaigns and focus on the issues.

Obama, in his 2008 campaign, won the support of the American people by expressing what he wanted to change about our country. Campaign promises that he made have been held in high regard because he promised the people of this nation hope and change.

By no means am I suggesting that he or any of the other 2008 candidates didn’t dirty their hands with mudslinging, but for the most part, I would argue that Obama was elected on the issues.

As much as partisan politics reigns supreme today, I see real merit in taking a leaf out of Obama’s campaign book. If the GOP wants any hope of having a nominee that stands a chance against the current president, they need to allow the Republican voters to choose their candidate based on the one they feel has the agenda they relate to the most.

Rather than bickering and appearing petty on national television, the candidates should be expressing where they see this country going and how they will take us there.

Yes, the race is early, and candidates want the official Republican nominee spot. Obtaining that position, though, should not come at the price of these candidates dignity and the dignity of the GOP as a whole.

Considering, even for a second, that smear campaigns will stop is foolish on my part. Conversely, I can’t help but feel that if these candidates stopped this insane crusade to disparage their competitors and truly talked with the American people about what is important to them and the United States, the GOP might be able to produce a nominee that could stand up to President Obama and his campaign.