It's not that the Republican candidates make Obama look good.
It's that the Democrats made Obama look bad.
That is the main hurdle Obama faces in 2012. At this point the Republicans are an irrelevant sideshow.
That is the main hurdle Obama faces in 2012. At this point the Republicans are an irrelevant sideshow.
A lot of the objections to Obama are objections to what certain people in Congress and the Senate did. That includes "Obamacare." Obama made a big mistake by notching his belt on that. He should have staked out the center early, reigned in Pelosi and others, and avoided identifying himself too closely with any product of the legislature. He has stayed close to the center most of the time.
Despite being shot in the back by his own party, Obama is doing pretty well. So far. Figures on the economy will be getting better, which Obama can -- unjustly --take credit for, and at the same time will take away the strongest campaign issue from the Republican candidate. So as Obama grows thanks to economic circumstances beyond his control the Republican candidate will weaken.
Obama is responsible for none of the economy and half the deficit; whether that will play in Peoria is up for grabs.
The Republicans have two issues, the economy and the deficit. Every other Republican plank is a losing plank according to polls.
"Obamacare" is none too popular. Yet most Americans feel a need for some kind of healthcare legislation. So attacking "Obamacare" can be a losing proposition. The winning position is to attack the bill as it stands and promise changes--but the Republicans are more or less precluded from doing anything positive on healthcare. They painted themselves into a corner on healthcare. "We will find a way to kill it" is all they can say.
Then we have a weak crop of GOP hopefuls, all subjecting themelves to the usual cannabalism and taking mostly positions that may be popular with some Republicans but are losers among all voters.
The GOP nomination. I've compared this to a horse race where they all go out slow and the best horses lose their edge and any horse can win. Romney is still the best horse and been in longer than anybody else, but with all these poll leaders and Romney looking like he can't put them away, it makes him appear really weak. And he is too darned colorless. He needs to show strength and decisiveness without being stupid.
Most of the time when you show strength and decisiveness in order to show strength and decisiveness you get stupid.
In my opinion, Romney has made a mistake by painting himself as conservative and by attacking the administration on the Iraq withdrawal. Typical Republican quicksand. Romney has tried to campaign for the general election but he also has moved to the right in order to secure the nomination. The Republicans deviate so much from the nation as a whole that quite possibly one cannot secure the nomination and remain at the center. Huntsman is an example; look where he is now.
Part of Romney's problem is that the Republican party has no vision. There is no golden city on the hill that Republicans can aspire to. For Republicans, everything is restrictive on individual choice and liberty or favoring a tiny minority over the majority, or a yearning for a mythical past. Not only do Republican stances on most issues go against the majority but they lack a positive popular goal to generate enthusiasm. All Republican energy is negative energy. Which you can see in the posts of some Republicans on here.
Despite being shot in the back by his own party, Obama is doing pretty well. So far. Figures on the economy will be getting better, which Obama can -- unjustly --take credit for, and at the same time will take away the strongest campaign issue from the Republican candidate. So as Obama grows thanks to economic circumstances beyond his control the Republican candidate will weaken.
Obama is responsible for none of the economy and half the deficit; whether that will play in Peoria is up for grabs.
The Republicans have two issues, the economy and the deficit. Every other Republican plank is a losing plank according to polls.
"Obamacare" is none too popular. Yet most Americans feel a need for some kind of healthcare legislation. So attacking "Obamacare" can be a losing proposition. The winning position is to attack the bill as it stands and promise changes--but the Republicans are more or less precluded from doing anything positive on healthcare. They painted themselves into a corner on healthcare. "We will find a way to kill it" is all they can say.
Then we have a weak crop of GOP hopefuls, all subjecting themelves to the usual cannabalism and taking mostly positions that may be popular with some Republicans but are losers among all voters.
The GOP nomination. I've compared this to a horse race where they all go out slow and the best horses lose their edge and any horse can win. Romney is still the best horse and been in longer than anybody else, but with all these poll leaders and Romney looking like he can't put them away, it makes him appear really weak. And he is too darned colorless. He needs to show strength and decisiveness without being stupid.
Most of the time when you show strength and decisiveness in order to show strength and decisiveness you get stupid.
In my opinion, Romney has made a mistake by painting himself as conservative and by attacking the administration on the Iraq withdrawal. Typical Republican quicksand. Romney has tried to campaign for the general election but he also has moved to the right in order to secure the nomination. The Republicans deviate so much from the nation as a whole that quite possibly one cannot secure the nomination and remain at the center. Huntsman is an example; look where he is now.
Part of Romney's problem is that the Republican party has no vision. There is no golden city on the hill that Republicans can aspire to. For Republicans, everything is restrictive on individual choice and liberty or favoring a tiny minority over the majority, or a yearning for a mythical past. Not only do Republican stances on most issues go against the majority but they lack a positive popular goal to generate enthusiasm. All Republican energy is negative energy. Which you can see in the posts of some Republicans on here.
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