Julian E. Zelizer: 5 Key Questions for GOP Candidates

Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter," published by Times Books, and editor of a book assessing former President George W. Bush's administration, published by Princeton University Press.

Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- On Monday night, most of the Republicans who have declared their candidacy for president will square off in New Hampshire for a debate on CNN.

Although many potential candidates still loom in the background, and most Americans are not yet paying attention to the campaign, there is an opportunity for the candidates to start answering basic questions about their vision of the GOP.

So much of the past two years has been about President Obama, and what conservatives dislike about the commander in chief, that much less time has been spent thinking and talking about a positive vision for what Republicans stand for.

The campaign of 2012 will help Americans to find out. In the debate, the moderators should push the candidates to address five basic questions that have emerged in recent weeks as Republicans have started to talk more about their own party than about Obama.

Question 1: What is your plan for the revitalizing the economy?

This remains the big unknown. The economy has been Obama's greatest weakness. The anger on Main Street about economic insecurity is palpable. Even with the signs of recovery that we have seen, the unemployment rate is unacceptably high, and too many Americans are struggling to protect their economic future.

Thus far, the Republicans have done much more attacking than proposing. The major response from the GOP has been to offer proposals cutting government services and cutting taxes, though there is minimal evidence from economists that these steps would truly cure the nation's economic malaise. The proposals also contradict policies that Republicans have themselves promoted, such as subsidies for the oil industry and Wall Street. If Republicans want to seriously challenge the president in 2012, they will need a more compelling blueprint for the future....