The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Sept. 22:

As Republican presidential candidates gather in Orlando for the Presidency 5 conference, they must be salivating over the prospect of carrying the biggest swing state in the nation next year. As well they should be. Florida’s a tossup right now, but President Obama’s outlook is increasingly dim.

Gallup measured his approval rating last month at 47 percent. With nearly 14 months to go, that doesn’t mean much in terms of predictive power, but it’s an ominous signal for a president who carried the state by a bare 51 percent in 2008 and goes into 2012 shouldering the burden of a failing economy.

The big hurt is the unemployment rate. Only four other states have a higher level than Florida’s 10.7 percent. Fairly or not, many Floridians blame Mr. Obama. Even some Democrats are no more than lukewarm toward the president.

That means his chances of re-election rest more and more on the weakness of his opponents, and in that department things may be looking up for the president. The more GOP candidates debate, the more questions they raise about themselves.

Sometimes they sound downright off-the-wall, as when Rep. Michele Bachmann last week called the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer “dangerous,” which drew cries of foul from the medical community because it’s a baseless charge. Ms. Bachmann, a tax lawyer and onetime employee of the IRS, surely knows better than this (we hope), but it seems part of a strategy designed to make her the favorite of right-wing activists.

There’s nothing wrong with bashing conventional wisdom. Certainly the president’s conventional remedies for the economic crisis have fallen short of the mark. But candidates need to offer strong and imaginative alternative ideas instead of just tearing down what exists.

Last week, candidate Ron Paul suggested that people should be free to opt out of health insurance even if they risk dying for failure to get medical attention. This got a round of applause, even shouts of “let ‘em die,” even before Mr. Paul explained that he yearned for a simpler time when charities and houses of worship would cover those costs. It’s doubtful that the American public, which includes nearly 50 million people without insurance, would consider this a serious suggestion.

Candidates on the right have also been taking potshots at Social Security, a vital source of income for millions of retirees — for many, the only source. It may not be actuarially sound, but that’s fixable. Calling it a Ponzi scheme and a “monstrous lie” without offering a credible plan to restore its long-term viability, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry did, makes him sound like just another flashy, shoot-from-the-lip candidate. Suggesting that the actions of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were potentially “treasonous” doesn’t add to Gov. Perry’s credibility, either.

All of this prompted Indiana’s widely respected Republican governor, Mitch Daniels, to express disappointment with the GOP race thus far and call for a “more candid and honest conversation.” Exactly.

With America in the middle of the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression, Florida’s voters are looking for leaders who can make government work effectively on their behalf, not merely someone who can echo the popular anger directed at Washington.

Running against Washington is a tried and true campaign tactic in the primaries. But running against government and offering flippant remarks in place of good ideas is a horrible strategy for anyone who wants to lead a major national party into a presidential election. That requires a broader vision from the candidates. They have to show they’re ready to govern, not just running to win an election.