Why I Still Back Obama to Win it All in 2012

I still hold the unpopular view that President Obama will win a second term in office. With the election being just over a year away, his daily Gallup poll number sitting just under 40% and the unemployment number still above 9%, I can understand why some may call me delusional. I hold this position because of two reasons, Obama himself and the field which is set out against him.

Whether people like him or not, Barack Obama is the most skilled politician since Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan (yes conservatives, I went there). Its still inconceivable to me how he is in the White House, considering who he was when he began his campaign (a junior senator from Illinois) and who he was up against in the Democratic primary. Considering the trivial questions about Obama’s legitimacy to be President highlighted by the shameful Donald Trump episode, people should not underestimate what an achievement it was for Obama to be elected simply because of the color of his skin. My point is this, he is a far more effective candidate than people give him credit for. People have re-visioned 2008 as if it was a walk in the park for the man, it was not.

Another reason why I feel Obama will win re-election is his record. 9.1% unemployment is not something to be proud of and it is a legitimate reason for Americans to look at the alternatives. But President Obama’s economic record is not as bad as many think; this point is best illustrated by Andrew Sullivan’s new piece:

The truth is that this President has done a good job in what has been one of the most difficult periods of modern history. He saved the economy from ruin (until the Tea Party took over Congress) with a stimulus that was as large as possible given the political realities, presided over a stock market that fairly quickly recouped many of its losses, presided over almost consecutive monthly increases in private sector job growth (unfortunately balanced by monthly decreases in public sector jobs which I attribute to the GOP further starving government), enacted the only meaningful healthcare reform ever in our history, passed financial reform (no matter what the Left says, he did this).

America’s economic woes has very little to do with America at the moment, it has more to do with Greece, Spain and Italy. Heck, if I was Obama I’d make the argument that before Republicans took over the House of Representatives economic growth in the country was steadying. Again, this is little solace to the millions of Americans who are unemployed, but Obama does have a real positive economic record to stand for in 2012. He shouldn’t shirk from this and he should try to educate many Americans that the country’s woes are directly linked to the looming catastrophe of countries thousands of miles away.

But if the above fails to win voters over, his opponents will surely make them think twice about abandoning him. There is a saying being branded about by disaffected liberals, one I have been hearing for little over a year: ‘I won’t vote for Obama just because he is less evil than Republicans’. The fact that liberals are seriously comparing Obama with the Republican field is incredible; as a Twitter buddy of mine pointed out, this is how Democrats got stuck with Reagan for 8 years and lost the economic conversation on the role of government. This is the same Republican field who did nothing as a gay soldier was booed by the debate audience and this is the same GOP field which induced cheers from the audience when a candidate told the American people to blame themselves (and Obama) for their unemployment and not Wall-Street. It would be cruel to flip-flops to compare them to Romney who has changed his position on many issues since his last go-round. Let’s not forget that he implemented a Health-Care law in his state which was the inspiration to President Obama’s. Rick Perry wanted his state to leave the union. Michele Bachmann wants to investigate members of the congress for being Anti-American. Herman Cain doesn’t know maths. Rick Santorum… Google. John Huntsman (sighs), well, I feel sorry for this man because in a different era he’d probably be a front runner. In fact this article was close to being named “the tragedy of Huntsman”. Huntsman is a great candidate all round apart from the simple fact that by today’s definition, he’s a Democrat.

Obama has been handed a gift with the Republican field and the GOP know it. This is evidenced by some in the Party begging Chris Christie to join the race. But make no mistakes about it, the economy is President Obama’s real opponent, he has little time and tools to improve that by next November, but he has a real argument to mitigate how it damages him. But it is my belief that the President that had his experience questioned and answered them with the death of Osama Bin Laden and Coronel Gaddafi, the same President who galvanized a movement in 2008 will be too much for the current GOP field.