As the nation heads into the 2012 presidential election, and with incumbent President Barack Obama running unopposed for the Democratic Party, the pressure is on the Republican Party to select a formidable candidate.

Since some states are jostling for primary dates, New Hampshire, traditionally the first state to hold primary elections, could hold its vote as early as the first week of December.

Despite the possibility of early primary elections, there is still no definitive frontrunner among the slate of eight Republican candidates (Michele Bachmann, John Perry, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum). Since June, there has been a musical chair of frontrunners tipped as likely to unseat Obama – from Donald Trump (who did not enter the race) to Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry, and now, Herman Cain, an African-American who is enjoying the spotlight.

The interchange of leading candidates weaves a web of confusion within the Republican Party – a factor which might work in favor of Obama's second-term chances, and for Democrats seeking election to the U.S. Congress.

The one constant among Republican candidates and Republicans in Congress is the stated desire to make Obama a one-term president. However, while it's understandable from an opposition party standpoint, it's incomprehensible that candidates so far have not put forward any profound platform that offers voters solutions to the crippling economic problems, particularly the stubborn unemployment rate.

So far, none of the candidates have urged their fellow Republicans in Congress to support President Obama's jobs plan, even when polls indicate that 63 percent of Americans favor the plan and independent economists agree that the plan is good for the ailing economy. They say the proposed Jobs Act contains very positive economic measures which could, even at this late stage, relieve some of the nation's economic pressures. Although Republicans in Congress will not support this plan, Obama is traveling across the country on a campaign for Congressional approval.

Herman Cain, the latest Republican frontrunner, has proposed some solutions in his 9-9-9 plan (read the National Weekly's look at "999" here). Although catchy, when analyzed, the plan would impose more taxes on the poor, less taxes on the rich and deprive the federal government of critical revenue. Cain's proposal has been severely criticized by most economists but, still riding high from his Republican straw-poll win in Tampa a few weeks ago, he has soared to the top of his field.

Cain, regardless of his puzzling proposal to fix the nation's economy, may have soared in national polls, but not among the overwhelming majority of Black Americans.

Very few in the Black community can relate to a fellow Black insisting that racism in America doesn't "hold back African-Americans," that Blacks don't support Republicans because they have been "brainwashed," or that they should not complain of poverty, since nothing prevents them from pursuing wealth. This message doesn't resonate in the Black community because it is ridiculous and false.

Not surprisingly, some in the Black community suspect Cain's sudden rise is an effort by Republicans to test the possibility of a Black candidate competing against the incumbent president, perhaps to create the perception that the Republican Party has resolved its racial underrepresentation. However, there is little chance of success, so most likely the Cain experiment will fizzle.

Americans need to examine the competing proposals before they vote in 2012.

Barack Obama may not have yet delivered the change he promised in 2008, but as he said in his address at the dedication of the MLK monument in Washington on Sunday, "Our work is not yet done... Change has never been quick, but change will come if you don't give up."