2012 Prospects

Those lucky Brits! Their executive campaign lasts a mere three weeks. Here in America, however, the opposition starts making noise right after an election. But it isn't until about a year before the next election when we turn the stove on.

It's that time again. But the strangest thing is going on. It would be fair to say that there is no one I would want to be President. Where did Obama go? Seriously! It is as if Obama has walked off the face of the Earth. He had fought so hard with the legislature to pass healthcare reform, and that's very nearly the last time we really heard from him.

Throughout his presidency, it is the legislature that took center stage, and I think this is really what has hurt him. The Democrats are fighting hard--certainly--but they are weary of taking swords to the nebulous mass that is the GOP, and Obama is nowhere to lead them. Perhaps, like us, he is weary of the idiocy and insincerity of the Tea Party.

It would have been enough, for example, for him to say something about Wisconsin, that he stands with the public workers against Scott Walker, even if it is not in his power to do anything for them.

The crux of the problem is two-fold: Throughout the course of the remainder of his presidency and his reelection campaign, Obama will have to prove that 1) he has some fight left in him, and 2) that he is capable of championing the progressive cause. Both of these are currently absent. We know now that Obama's ideals of unity and pragmatism are worth nothing in the eyes of the opposition, and we absolutely cannot negotiate with them. Obama must therefore use the declining popularity of the Tea Party to his--and the Democrats'--advantage and pull the rug right out from beneath their feet.

It is entirely possible to do this. Anthony Wiener (D-NY) has built his career around making biting remarks about Republican policy, and I daresay that there is no one better at framing debates and making arguments in the legislature than he. I wouldn't daresay that being a great orator is the only requirement for service in government, but on an election campaign as heated and ruthless as this one will be, Wiener's skills may be invaluable. He is the only legislator who can play verbal hardball against the nebulous and poisonous mass.

"If Obama has disappeared and is no longer championing your cause, why would you want him to win?" Unfortunately, this election has degraded already into most other elections as a choice between two evils. Ideally, we would want a choice between one great politician--what Obama was when he campaigned in 2008 and what he started out as being--and one not-so-great politician, or, better, between two great politicians. But we have never had the latter, and the former occurs rarely. But if we can learn anything as a people, we can discern from Wisconsin, from Ohio, and from Michigan, that Obama--even an absent Obama--is far better than the alternative.

Granted, we would not be voting for something; rather, we would be voting against something else. There is a crucial difference. We would more be saying no to the Tea Party than yes to Obama. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that people do not like to vote against something, but in this case it is existentially necessary that we deny the Tea Party the seat of power. In order to succeed, we must participate.

Who, exactly, are we up against? First we have Donald Trump, who, aside from being bankrupt a few times himself, is also a "Birther," a conspiracy theorist who does not believe that Obama was born in the United States (and, by extension, that Hawaii is not a state). The American Family Association has already discounted him because he doesn't hate gays enough1.

Next we have Newt Gingrich, who may or may not even decide to run. He has been divorced three times, and possesses almost no respect outside of the GOP establishment. His glory days are long gone.

Sarah Palin should be next, but she hasn't decided on anything yet. Hell, she hasn't even decided who her favorite Founding Father is. I've heard no word of the corruption allegation against her in Alaska. It is worth noting that people are now realizing that celebrity does not compensate for lack of political wisdom, probably because of all her "WTF Moments"2.

And then there's Michele Bachmann. Nary a more sinister and deranged contender could be found. It is one thing to not look at the camera when attempting to address a TV audience, but it is certainly quite another to incite anti-government violence as a representative of said government.

Representative Paul Ryan was supposed to be the up-and-coming Republican darling, but just yesterday we found out that his budget proposal would expand the deficit, as well as doubling the cost of Medicare for the elderly3.

Ex-UN ambassador John Bolton, who served under George W Bush, has an itchy trigger finger on the subject of Iran. He has been obsessing over attacking Iran for two years. In his latest interview, he claimed that "if Mubarak fails, Israel should bomb Iran"4.

Mike Huckabee will probably not run because he has a sweet deal on Fox News, but he is probably the only authentic Christian conservative on the GOP ballot. His latest Dominionist gaffe? To suggest that Americans should be forced at gunpoint to listen to revisionist historian David Barton5. Mind you, Huckabee has a long history of bigoted remarks about nearly everyone, and has actually made a very revealing quip in his interview with Jon Stewart in 2008(6). Something about not being allowed to burn people at the stake...? Hmm I wonder what would happen to me if he were elected? It drives the point home that what happens in Washington affects real people, so we had better participate, lest we are set on fire.

1) http://www.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147505020

2) http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48276.html

3) http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/cbo-gop-budget-would-increase-debt-then-stick-it-to-medicare-patients.php

4) http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/01/bolton-israel-bomb-iran-mubarak-falls/

5) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/huckabee-david-barton-gunpoint_b_842506.html

6) http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/12/10/god_bless_jon_stewart