Decision 2012: Obama Re-Election Threatened by Failure to Develop Solid Jobs Plan

[Better Believe It]

Decision 2012: Obama Re-Election Threatened by Failure to Develop Solid Jobs Plan
By: Jon Walker
August 12, 2010

The economy is really bad right now, so it is no surprise that it is hurting President Barack Obama. While his job approval numbers are not yet terrible (47 percent approve and 48 percent disapprove), drilling further down into the results from the new NBC/WSJ poll (PDF), danger is lurking for Obama if the job market doesn’t turn around in the next year or two.

With the economy and jobs the top issue for voters by far, Obama’s current poll numbers on the economy should scare the administration. Only 44 percent of people approve of Obama’s handling of the economy, while 52 percent disapprove. Only 37 percent are very confident or quite confident that Obama has the right policies to improve the economy, less than the 39 percent who are not at all confident that he has the right plan. The economy is the one issue where people most think Obama has fallen short of expectations. What might be most concerning of all from a political perspective is that for the first time since 2004, more people think the Republican party would do a better job dealing with the economy than the Democratic party, 34 percent to 31 percent.

Heading into the 2012 presidential election, if unemployment is in the eight to nine percent range, and around 58 percent still think that the nation is on the wrong track, I am here to say that there is simply no way Obama can win re-election, even with a brilliant campaign strategy. That is why the only important political news about the 2012 election, from my perspective, is what Obama plans to do to get the country back to something even close to full employment. As it currently stands, his plan seems mainly to be the one-two punch of hope and pray. That should worry Democrats far more about Obama’s re-election prospects than any poll numbers, enthusiasm gap or potential Republican nominee.

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/08/12/decision-2012-obama-re-election-threatened-by-failure-to-develop-solid-jobs-plan/

[golddigger]

1. The fastest way to sink a Presidency is the econmy.

[OHdem10]

2. Excellent points.

[Botany]

3. The Republicans are trying to ruin any chance of a recovery ......

..... as a way back to power. That is why they stopped loans to small businesses
because that would mean real jobs for Americans.

[Better Believe It]

10. That began when they successfully watered down President Obama's "stimulus" bill in 2009.

That's what bi-partisanship accomplished.

Three Republican Senators wrote most of the bill and voted for it knowing it was inadequate, or as Noriel Roubini put it, "puny".

[gulliver]

26. Exactly. And in the Senate they are killing green jobs...

...by standing in the way of the climate and energy bill.

They created the Great Recession, and they are doing everything they can to prevent us getting out of it.

[montanacowboy]

4. His timid approach to implementing a

full scale WPA type works program will really hurt the Democrats. He had all the wind behind his back and he failed to take the necessary action to be bold and act decisively to get this country back to work - instead he seeks consensus with his enemies who despise him and are plotting his downfall.

He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking the bold leadership that is necessary and required in these times, so he better get the hell off the pot and do something.

[NJmaverick]

5. File this under: wishful thinking by FDL

I honestly wonder if FDL is being funded by the GOP these days.

[flamingdem]

7. or Fox nt

[DavidDvorkin]

8. Indeed. They've really gone round the bend.

[montanacowboy]

9. Don't shoot the messenger

without a job recovery the Democrats are in real trouble

[NJmaverick]

11. If they were just a messenger, there wouldn't be a problem

however FDL has been very active and open in it's efforts to undermine the administration.

[still_one]

6. Cannot say I am impressed with the Obama administration, however, there is no doubt that whether it

is a jobs bill or helping small business, the repukes have been the obstruction, NOT the administration as "firedoglake" implies

The biggest problem I see is that the administration has treated the repukes too nice, and at best timidly exposes them for what they are doing

[Better Believe It]

13. The administration and Democratic leadership in the Senate has failed to fight the obstructionists.

They continue to let Republicans run the Senate and weaken or kill legislation that will help working people and revive the economy.

Democrats refuse to use their power to run the Senate and force Republicans to either engage in real filibusters or just stop filibusters under Senate rules and as provided for in the Constitution of the United States.

[still_one]

14. and it makes me sick that they have no fire in the belly to fight /nt

[NJmaverick]

17. The problem is they are getting hammered by people who should be helping them

sort of has a dampening effect on that belly fire

[still_one]

15. and it makes me sick that they have no fire in the belly to fight /nt

[NJmaverick]

16. I have noticed many that should be helping them are usually too busy knocking them

[Better Believe It]

23. kick

[asdjrocky]

12. It's the economy stupid.

The list of people over 50 I know out of work just keeps growing. What will happen to this generation? What will happen to us if they extend the retirement age for people that can't find a job to begin with?

How much does someone want to vote who can't afford to buy food?

[area51]

18. +1

Obama & congress are out of touch with reality.

[Aramchek]

19. you're not going to stop Obama. no matter how hard you try.

[Greyhound]

20. They're (he) is not taking the Republik nominee into consideration. The party of

"scary-crazy" will probably nominate some nut-case so unacceptable Obama could well win by default, again.

[Better Believe It]

22. Good point. The Republicans always have to pick someone worse than the Democratic candidate

[ProSense]

21. "Heading into the 2012 presidential election" Wait

aren't we heading into the 2010 election?

[mother earth]

24. Good point, perhaps there should be part A to this article...

because the democrats can be sidelined more than they are already by their lack of coming out swinging when they had the wind at their back. What does it take for democrats to realize middle of the road is for losers, you want hope and change...you had better deliver some at the get go. It may already be too late. When seats are lost, they are lost and it's critical to the neverending "status quo". Nothing can be accomplished without your base and going with that base. Strategy is the beginning of not only the race, but holding that seat and re-election...yet somehow the fight may have been lost at the beginning. If you are going to fight the b'tards, you had better not let your guard down, nor try to win them over. You win them over when they can't deny your success, when they can no longer spew BS because you've shown the worthless liars/obstuctionists that they are dead wrong. Middle of the road and bipartisanship, is a death sentence. The GOP gets that, why don't we?
Even with their batshit crazy following, they get it, it's the one thing you can just shake your head at and wonder, what the hell is missing in translation for our party?

[ThomWV]

25. Jobs will not be a major campaign issue in 2012.

[Better Believe It]

27. I agree. Unemployment will be a major campaign issue in 2012.

The problem isn't jobs, it's the lack of jobs!