Rush Is Wrong On This One; Obama Still Heavily Favored For Re-Election
Now, of course the economy may not improve for quite some time and normally that is fatal for a President. However, Obama is uniquely positioned to survive this scenario. First, thanks largely to media, he is going to be able to use the “It’s Bush’s Fault” excuse for far longer than any other President in modern times. For Obama to be really hurt by a poor economy things would have be at least as bad three years from now as they are today. The reality is that, unless this is an unusually long recession, there is almost no chance that there won’t be at least some improvement that his friends in the fourth estate can of course give him all the credit for.
Some look to expected conservative gains in today’s results and foresee a 1994-like Republican landslide forming for 2010. Ok, that is certainly possible and, based on history, maybe even probable, but even this set of circumstances plays right into the hands of Obama’s reelection prospects. If Democrats no long have a stranglehold on both houses of congress, then much of the understandable fear that sparked the Tea Party movement will be greatly dissipated by 2012. You can even easily see this development being spun by the media as a positive element of his narrative. Obama will be portrayed as having “learned his lessons” and “shown his ability to adapt,” all of which will make his a far more seasoned and superior reelection candidate.
(On a side note, there is no greater indicator of the impotence of the Republican Party’s message machine and the lack of knowledge of the average American voter than the fact that, as proven by the two post-election polls I commissioned last year, vast portions of Obama’s base of support still somehow think that Republicans have control of congress and at least have the power to stop his agenda. This is an incredibly important reality that the Republican Party has done absolutely nothing to rectify.)
There are many delusionally optimistic conservatives who insist Obama is the second coming of Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately, the facts seem to indicate that he will end up tracking politically far more like Ronald Reagan.
There are many differences between Carter and Obama. First, the economy got much worse during Carter’s term so the “blame it all on Republicans” excuse didn’t resonate. Second, Carter got the snot beaten out of him by Ted Kennedy during the 1980 primaries (the media will never allow Hillary Clinton to do the same even if she dared to act on what are surely her desires), Third, the demographics of the nation are very much different in 1980 than they will be in 2012 (more conservatives have died, more liberals have turned 18). Fourth, the news media was not nearly as overtly liberal or partisan in 1980 as it is today (it is important to note here that the conservative minority elements of media will actually have a profound economic self interest for Obama to be reelected). And finally, Carter had to run against Ronald Reagan, a candidate whose electoral qualities (thanks again to the media and their relentless destruction of potential heirs to his throne) are highly unlikely to be duplicated in 2012. Let’s face it, no matter how badly things go for Obama, there still needs to be a viable alternative for him to be defeated. Just ask John Kerry.
What frightens me most about the way things could go over the next three years is that in our understandable zeal to expose Obama as the fraud that he is, conservatives may have set up a situation where if the economy does recover as it normally does we may be perceived by the ignorant masses as having been wrong about Obama and the nefarious narrative of us being mean, outdated, racists will be even further entrenched for at least another generation. The most frustrating thing about all of this is that the vast majority of what conservatives are saying about Obama is correct; except for the most likely outcome of his reelection bid.
Pages: 1 2
14 comments
This has got to be creating a boon for his ratings. Hell even I turned him on today for the first time in months to hear him offering to debate Barak Obama about his policies. Not some hackey but Obama himself.
Limbaugh is eating this up as the left is trying desperately to take the heat off their man and his Boondoggle Budget Bill.
Obama’s the first black president, and it seems likely that he polls differently from previous presidents for that reason. I think that the negative numbers on each issue connected with him reflect voter sentiment more accurately than his general approval rating, because some of those being polled probably feel self-conscious of being disapproving of a black person. No way to quantify that — just stay tuned.
You seem to have forgotten two things: 1)In the last two major elections, how many Conservatives stayed home to teach the Republicans a lesson? 2)Americans, blissfully unaware of what was going on with BHO last year — have turned on and tuned in this year in ways I have never seen my formerly Liberal pals, family members — these folks are hell bent on removing this poseur from office as soon as electorally possible.
American voters is no longer the same naive, trusting folks they were even 6 months ago. . .factor that in and write a new piece.
Maybe how confident the Democrats may be as they know the fraudulent voting activity plans for any and all elections. . .ACORN/Working Families Party are out gathering bogus “safety” ballots if their candidate even gets close to losing. If this is traceable back to the White House — think of those possibilities.
You need to think outside the box. . .there has never been a more liberal, America-hating group elected to the White House. . .and if you think Americans are still asleep at the wheel. . .your wrong!
I want what you are smoking………..I guess his Black Panther cronies paid you a visit, LOL.
This was good for comic relief……………………..
“1)In the last two major elections, how many Conservatives stayed home to teach the Republicans a lesson”
Any “conservative” who stayed home and helped elect Obama is a traitor to their supposed principles, a traitor to the country and an idiot.
You are right! I gave up friendships with folks who did this — and guess what? They are now politically active against the Liberals and ANYTHING BHO. (although we still are not friends)
MY POINT IS THEY WILL NO LONGER STAY HOME as they did in 06 and 08 and trust me — there is a whole lot of these folks coming back to the polls . . .the writer did not account for a change in current American thinking, more access to information, more access to a community of like minded thinkers. . .was not the case in the 70-80s points in time used in this article….times have changed so has American voter thinking.
Seriously, Mediate. John Ziegler?
He’s seriously contending that any rational person views Obama less favorably because of the way he threw a baseball? That was an “a-ha” moment for Ziegler? He really thinks people are that simplistic and dumb?
Ziegler writes: “Second, Carter got the snot beaten out of him by Ted Kennedy during the 1980 primaries.” Who writes like that? Not professionals.
And his repeated assertions that the media is in the tank for Obama seem to assume that people are too stupid to figure out that Ziegler, Fox, Murdoch’s empire, all of talk radio, and, evidently, Mediaite, are rightwing hack sites. Also, there are very few liberal media outlets, except those that sef-identify as such. If the MSM were really liberal, Bush wouldn’t have been named to the presidency, and then elected, and he wouldn’t have gotten away with two phony wars. Of course, Ziegler knows that. He’s playing his followers for rubes, as always.
I’m just surprised Mediaite signed up for the ride.
This is the first time I’ve been to Mediaite. If Ziegler is representative of the, um, quality of the writers here, this site won’t survive.
The media that covered for Obama for the last year is also waking up to the financial reality that people are tuning them out and thus their ratings and subscriptions are at an all time low. More and more you are seeing stories that are more balanced and actually critical of this administration because of it.
The media knows they don’t have full dominance of what is in print anymore and are also taking notice of the ratings of “Fox News” and I think are honestly trying to become slightly more balanced to gain viewership again.
The media wasn’t the only reason why BO won. Republicans had yet another Rino to vote for so most stayed home. Bush was a Rino IMO and added further dissatisfaction with conservatives.
As you said a lot can change in 3 years but unless BO changes course quickly as Clinton did to get reelected I can’t see it happening.
JZ is Hot and Roaring!! Either I’m high on caffeine or I can actually feel Ziegler’s passion as I read this!
You started a Revolt, JZ! The people are hungry for the passion of this fight. We don’t want to give up our personal freedoms under the name of “national health care” or any other Obama-led Revision of the U.S.A!
Obama will stay on top as long as he keeps his **Star** Appeal.
That is something the Right is going to have to match if we want to stop him.
I cannot see a future with President Obama. He has too many hidden agendas that are surfacing. If I am hanging out with a bunch of plumbers over twenty or thirty years, I would either be a plumber or like the idea of plumbing. It is evident President Obama has been hanging out with communist party members for twenty or thirty years.
Quack! Quack!
We are free at birth to be plumbers, doctors, or dream big like be President in the USA. The price has been paid in blood by every race color and creed. I will always support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic.
Liberty Liberty Liberty!
Why is it when people list Obama’s accomplishments from the past year, they always miss my favorite;
The way he handled those damn pirates!
John: While your message of not crowing so fast is a good lesson to be well heeded, you should also be cautioned not to lock in the 4-year extension automatically. People may say now in meaningless opinion polls, that they support him Barry regardless of all these mistakes and foibles. Certainly, he’s assured nearly 100 percent of the African-American vote, as well as the majority of the other various “identity groups.” But the margin of victory votes — the indies and disaffected conservatives — are giving the same reason now as back then. Those making up the over-40% portion of that approval rating SAY that because nobody wants to be seen as a racist or an angry, town-hall wacko, which are apparently our choices should be disagree with POTUS nowadays.
Surely, even if Barry does nothing to actually help the economy, entrepreneurial and enterprising capitalists will figure out ways to prosper in the coming 3 years. So the short term economy (and probably, jobs) won’t be as bad then as now. But deficits will loom large, and inflation will almost certainly rear its ugly head which is something these younger generations can’t and won’t understand until it happens to them.
And if he manges to pass Cap & Trade and/or full-frontal ObamaCare, the economy WILL tank for certain, and that will decide his re-election fate. “Its the economy, stupid” will trump the cult of personality every time.
Picking up where Circlesandarrows left off, it is about the economy stupid!
The “recovery” we now find us in, is devoid of jobs and any kind of sustainable growth. The only segment of the society that continues to grow is government. About the only hope Obama has of winning in three years is if he able to silence the opposition. Ron Paul supporters and Liberty movement members are already listed with the FBI as potential domestic terrorists. If the media can continue to hoodwink an ever growing, restless American public, that is becoming increasingly politically active with stories of how us “terrorists” or “anarchists” are trying to ruin this country. Obama could return to office.
Zeigler, mark my words. . . After this holiday season tanks and the fallout starts causing the collapse of the commercial real estate bubble next Spring, and unemployment doubles again. . . Then, get back to me about how strong Obama’s great political strengths will carry him through another term of office.
You won’t even recognize this country twelve months from now.
The real question is almost more of can we afford to wait three years to elect the next president? Will there be a country left to save?
I pray you are right and that I am wrong. We’ll see.
The folly in analyzing Obama’s re-election prospects now is obvious: it’s just too damned early!
That Obama is “still” more popular than W was “when he was re-elected” is irrelevant. Bush was re-elected almost three years after his freshman year (always a honeymoon, moreso in Obama’s case), while Obama is still basking in its warmth. Obama’s plummet from the public’s good graces is likely still in its infancy, a possibility strongly suggested when noting that the current presidential approval rating is fully ten points lower than it was at this point in Bush’s first term.
More importantly, the public’s current lukewarm level of disapproval isn’t based on anything: it’s based on nothing.
Obama arguably hasn’t achieved much to date–he really hasn’t tried–so he hasn’t failed at much either. Cap and Trade, Health Care, and Afghanistan are likely to change all that. The former two are probably “no wins” for Obama: if they fail to pass, they’ll point out his weakness and ineffectiveness, changing “Yes, we can” to “No, I couldn’t.” And if they do pass, a process helped by the fact that the public has been kept in the dark about the legislation and its effects, the results will likely be even worse for Obama: any positive effects of these bills would first appear in outyears, if ever, while the negative effects, reinforced by his opponents, will hit home immediately.
Moreover, if Obama’s record of indecision continues, public perception will inevitably turn. His lack of decisiveness can [with increasing difficulty] be characterized as thoughful reflection and informed deliberation, but the simple passage of time will define it in the public’s mind as foot-dragging and an inability to be decisive, a trait that even Bush’s detractors would admit did not plague him. Again, time is most certainly not on Obama’s side.
And what about the mines Obama has laid for himself? Bush 41 pulled his own trigger with his “Read my lips” comment. His son nearly did the same with his “Uniter, not a divider” exhortations. So what can Republicans in 2012 make of Obama’s promises of transparency, bipartisanship, decisiveness and unabated national progress? Remember his secret “bold plan to jump start the economy?” It won’t take Karl Rove to make Obama’s 2008 campaign trail look like hollow promises at best, and abject hypocrisy and failures at worst.
The wild cards in all this are the headlines: will there be another terrorist attack? Natural disasters? Diplomatic collapses? War? The economy? These unknowns, their timing, and how Obama responds to them, are far more likely to define Obama’s future than his first ten months in office.
So the truly wise political prognosticator won’t try to read Obama’s tea leaves just yet. Unsatisfactory though it may be, at a moment like this, the only informed prediction is, “We’ll see.”
- » Fox News To Conduct "Extended, Exclusive" Interview With Pres. Obama
- » FAMU Sex Tape Link - Real Or Hoax?
- » Glenn Beck Confirms That Your Rights Come From God
- » SNL's Toyota Prius Commercial Is Out Of Control
- » Joe Biden At The Radio & Television Dinner: As Entertaining As You'd Hope
Scott Brown On House Health Care Bill: “The Biggest Problem…Is Its Lack Of Transparency”

Last night when Chris Matthews discussed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's idea of a "Deem and Pass" to get the health reform bill pushed through Congress, his main concern was that it would open up Democrats to criticism of using evasive tactics. And he wasn't wrong: Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown was on The Situation Room tonight, already chomping at the bit to discuss the "backroom deals....political chicanery and parliamentary maneuvers" that the House majority was using to "ram this bill through."
Betty White Charms The Pants Off Of Nation, Larry King
The Betty White publicity train continues
More TV headlines:
»Shuster: ‘Fox Is Far More Conservative Overall Than MSNBC Could Ever Be Liberal’ »79
»Obama Interview Brings Big Ratings For Baier »2
»Michael Steele On CBO Report: “That’s A Lie” »7
»It’s Official! Christiane Amanpour To Anchor This Week »17
»Glenn Beck Makes ‘I Heart Mao’ T-Shirts, Reads Mediaite »20
© 2010 Mediaite, LLC | About Us | Advertise | Newsletter | Privacy | User Agreement | Disclaimer | Power Grid FAQ | Contact | Archives
| Dan Abrams, Founder
| Hosting by Datagram
|
RSS




















