The 2012 Election is Over, Folks

The 2012 election has clearly become Obama’s to lose. And I feel confident at this point that he won’t.

As ridiculously tragic as this week’s toppling dominos might have appeared -- from the the promotion of “Muhammad Movie Trailer” by a crazed fundamentalist Christian pastor in Florida, and its excerpting by irresponsible journalists on Egyptian television, to the killing of a U.S. ambassador in Libya by terrorists who coolly manipulated general Muslim outrage over the video -- they will likely solidify the lead the President was already in the process of establishing over his klutz of an opponent.

In an election year, any sort of foreign tension tends to drive voters back to the incumbent; well, they tell themselves, we’d better pull together and stick with the horse in the middle of the stream. No telling what we’d get with the new guy … especially a mere state governor like Romney who has zero international experience.

The news from Benghazi, Cairo, Yemen, and elsewhere over the past four days coincided with reports that the President already was pulling away from the challenger in key battleground states. Polls indicated that Obama has developed a comfortable lead over Romney in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, and Virginia. See this morning’s report in the Washington Post.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll found the President ahead by 50 percentage points to 43 in Ohio, 49 to 44 in Florida, and the same in Virginia. Such a lead is hardly an insurmountable one, except it was clear from the start that voter uncertainty over these candidates, and the movement of undecideds between them, was going to be smaller than usual.

Still Hoping for Change - Jeff Weiss

Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign focused on two words: "hope" and "change."  To a country filled with citizens who saw the nation's economy burn in the background of two wars while the sitting president fiddled, "hope" and "change" sounded great.

Now, as the two year anniversary of Obama's historic election win approaches, very few Americans have seen improvement.  The stock market didn't crash, but the housing market is still faltering, unemployment rates are still sky-high, and many people are running out of hope.  We have been told many times that the recession is over, but no one is quite sure when the recovery will trickle down to us regular folks.  I can agree with how the woman in the above video feels.  I supported Barack Obama in 2008.  I volunteered for his campaign.  I voted for him.  And I spent a good part the last year and a half defending him to others who just don't see enough results.

It's quite possible that - even though things aren't great now - they could easily have been worse if Barack Obama was not the President of the United States.  But, it is very hard to try to ask people to imagine how much worse things could be, when they find themselves worse off now than before Election Day of 2008.  I still support President Obama and as of now he will have my vote in 2012, but for his sake as much as everyone else's, I hope he will have a stronger list of accomplishments by the time he starts campaigning.

Supreme Court Vacancy - Republican Warning to Obama

Late last week Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. Justice Stevens was nominated by Republican President Gerald Ford, however, he has been a strong liberal voice on the court.

Republicans have warned President Obama that should he nominate a justice "too liberal" they will make it a "whale of a fight." With all of the political capital expended to pass the health care reform bill just last month, should President Obama heed the Republican's warning?


Scott Hinkley:

I am very pleased that Justice Stevens is seizing this opportunity to help re-shape the direction of the Supreme Court. I am sure that he has been frustrated by the conservative and compassionless views taken by his adversaries throughout his tenure, and I have no doubts that he has felt the push from corporations who have gutted the Republican party, driving the court further into the pockets of the few at the price of the freedom of the many.

I think that Obama has every right to press back against the cronyism George W. ushered back into the American psyche. Furthermore, the unwaveringly contrary stance taken by the leaders (and wannabe leaders) of the Republican party is only serving to undermine the legitimacy of their opposition.

Let me pause for a moment and say how sad I am that there is almost no way to criticize the small-mindedness of the pirates currently looting conservative American values without seeming like the criticism also includes the values these despicable people hide behind.

I am all for fiscal-conservatism. I am all for protecting our country. I respect the power of faith and the singular value of family and community. Where are the leaders who act, rather than preach, these things? All I see are rich men spending other people's money and laughing all the way to the bank. $1.3 Million squandered on House Speaker Ray Sansom alone.

I encourage President Obama to continue to press ahead, regardless of the threats and hyperbole. Thanks to Justice Stevens for recognizing the singular power of his timing.

Ryan John:

President Obama hasn’t been very afraid to instigate criticism from the right so far in his term. Therefore, I don’t think he feels any pressure to appeal to congrassional republicans in any way with his second Supreme Court nomination.

He already offended republican Supreme Court advocates when he apologetically condemned the Supreme Courts decision to allow big corporations to spend without regulation during elections, when he delivered this years State of the Union. Instead of nominating a moderate to appease the right, I think he’ll nominate someone just as liberal as Justice Paul Stevens.

With approval ratings in jeopardy, I think Obama will use this nomination as his time to please his liberal base while propelling the liberal agenda set forth in his 2008 campaign. No matter what he does, Obama doesn’t stand much chance of bringing republicans on his side. He can, however, bring back some democrats, mostly progressives who vote according to wedge, social issues.

When Obama nominates another liberal to the Supreme Court, whoever it is better be ready to fight. It also has to be someone with little or no baggage. Some are speculating Hilary Clinton. She is on Obama’s “short list” of possibilities. I think it will be the left leaning former Georgia Supreme Court chief justice Leah Ward Sears, making her the first African American woman to sit on the court.