President Obama Announces Re-Election Bid
April 4, 2011
President Barack Obama announced he'll run for re-election in 2012, which is hardly a surprise. Has there ever been a president who hasn't run for re-election?
I suspect his ability to win the election will - shocking, I know - depend on the economy. As of today the jobs report was unexpectedly good, the housing market still sucks, economic growth is a little slow, we're involved in essentially 3 wars - Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. I personally think we shouldn't have gotten involved in Libya (or Iraq, for that matter).
But if people don't perceive that the economy has gotten better, they'll blame Obama and he probably won't get re-elected.
I confess, that as a knee-jerk, bleeding heart liberal, I voted for Obama. During the campaign I was a Hilary Clinton supporter, despite my feelings that she was polarizing. Once Barack Obama won the nomination, I supported him fully. He'll need to energize his grassroots backers like he did the first time around and I think that's going to be extremely difficult, because there are a lot of people like me who supported him before but aren't dazzled by his performance. And need it be said, but I'm not a young African-American, and it's an open question of that demographic will come out in support a second time.
I confess to being slightly disappointed in him. I think McCain/Palin would have been a train wreck of epic proportions, but to me Obama seems unconvincing sometimes - like he's too willing to negotiate instead of lead. Granted, inheriting one of the worst economies in 60 years isn't an easy thing to deal with and since it's rather difficult to prove a negative - i.e., that without the bailout and his policies, the economy would have crashed even more - he's a fairly easy target. For a great communicator, sometimes his message seems a little weak.
Of course, who will run against him? Nobody knows for sure, but Romney? I sort of like Romney, but how's he going to battle Obama? (Not enough to vote for him. Note the knee-jerk, bleeding heart reference earlier). Healthcare reform was practically modeled after his own state healthcare reform initiatives. Newt Gingrich? Too much baggage, and if you're the type that thinks Barack Obama is the dull college professor, imagine what having Newt in office for 4 to 8 years would be like. Newt Gingrich is just not likable. Sara Palin? Yeesh! Where's my passport?
It's probably too early to get going on the 2012 election. I sort of dread the 24-hour nonstop election cycle. But it ought to be interesting. If only they wouldn't start so early.
posted by Mark Terry at 6:55 AM
12 Comments:
I, too, voted for him and I, too, am disappointed in him. But as a resident of a blue state (Maine) with a Tea Party governor (Paul LePage), I can tell you first hand that the alternative really is unthinkable.
I thought about voting for Obama for about 2 minutes, then I discovered he never actually said anything-kind of like Ross Perot. It was the first time in many years I voted against my party. He's not qualified and has no clue how to run the country, but I bet his golf game is improving!
I liked Hillary and would have voted for her. I hope she ditches Obama and puts in her own bid, but I don't see it happening.
rjkeller
--I'm in Michigan and the new governor, RIck Snyder, seems intent on taking the state apart piece by piece. A friend of mine said Snyder is either the most evil man on the planet or the dumbest.
I've commented that I find Snyder fascinating in the same way a kamikaze pilot was fascinating.
rkfinnell--
I think Hilary would have been great, ultimately. I don't expect her to run again, though.
Regardless of how I feel he's doing (eh), it is the ALTERNATIVE that is unthinkable for me. Truly. I always felt that the office of president was something to aspire to, and if Jefferson, say, was any indication, it should be held by a thinker. Hamilton. Whomever. That it is fashionable now to BASH thinkers in favor of fringe beliefs . . . it's just sad, to me.
Erica,
Yeah, I can't decide if he's actually not doing that great a job or the hole we were in was so deep that getting to where we are now was a heroic achievement. But I'm convinced, since McCain seemed totally clueless about the economy, that if he'd been elected the world's economy would have collapsed and we'd be in a much greater mess.
I also feel like there's a lot of unspoken racism about Obama in the criticism mix.
I feel like Obama stabbed me in the back. He was given huge majorities in the House and Senate and then he governed as if he was in the minority and needed Republican approval for everything. He should have made it plain to Americans that we are in this mess largely because of he Republican misgovernance and insane policies but instead he catered to their every whim. He had a historic opportunity to change the course of this country and he failed, or refused. Seeing as how he retained the shrub's banskter advisors I suspect he just conned all of us about whose side he was on.
Eric,
Well, that's stronger than I feel, but I do feel like he managed to waste the majority. I know that his advisors wanted him to not put so much emphasis on healthcare reform and wait for his second or third year. He correctly felt he wouldn't have the clout then to push it through, but I'm not unconvinced that healthcare reform is going to be recognizable in a couple years anyway.
During the campaign he promised public option and no mandate, and look what we got. The public option could have, and probably would have, evolved into a real healthcare system like other countries have, and to my mind that was the best part of the program he originally proposed.
Eric,
Since Obama was accused over and over again - still - of being a socialist with the healthcare reform package he got through, I'm hardpressed to imagine the public option having gone through, but I too would have preferred a public option. I'm puzzled - and I actually write about this crap for a living - how the mandate is going to work. A lot of people will just pay the penalty tax of about $750 when they get sick instead of buying a policy when they're healthy.
Frankly, next election I AM voting for a socialist.
"A friend of mine said Snyder is either the most evil man on the planet or the dumbest."
That's what we all say about LePage. I sense a common thread here.
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