Sunday, October 9, 2011

Obama's Chances

Ask anyone regardless of political party, in 2008 current president ran a hell of a campaign to gain his seat in the White House. No one can take away the power he generated, the money he raised, and one of the most influential campaign wins in United States history. Most recently, however, the hope for Obama has shifted. He is currently in deep water.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the Obama term since 2008. I suppose our conversation turned into debate after a few minutes, but a friendly debate nonetheless. We started discussing how each of us felt on Obama’s current situation. It’s interesting to see how my friend felt about Obama and why his approval ratings have sank. She expressed how she felt he couldn’t get as much done because of situations in which he inherited, or problems that he couldn’t anticipate that changed the way his presidency was unfold.

I was recently reading an article on whether or not Obama is truly an ‘underdog’ in the 2012 election.  Most Republican candidates and other Republican party supporters see Obama as the underdog in this election. Looking at the general numbers- unemployment is hovering just over 9%, Obama’s approval rating is in the 40% range, and 77% of the nation says that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

But looking at the numbers is a very naïve thing to do if you’re a Republican. Remember, Obama raised millions of dollars for the campaign in an impressive amount of time. Not only was Obama able to raise money, he was able to gain votes in very interesting places- North Carolina and Virginia voting for Obama, along with New Mexico and Ohio.  

A great point the article from www.telegraph.co.uk mentions that Obama also significantly won the election last year with 365 Electoral Votes. He holds major ground in Electoral Vote worth in very influential states.

I bring up my friend’s comment in this blog because I think it makes a valid statement on how people perceive Obama through his tough run as president.  For some, Obama has shown an effort to correct the problems of the country in ways that he feels he can- Jobs Plan, Health Care, and even global terrorism have all been addressed in the last 3 years.  Perhaps if the economic plummet hadn’t happened he would be able to do more, and like he planned in his 2008 campaign.

Personally, I do think Obama is an underdog in this upcoming election.  I think there is enough discontentment that may or may not be his personal fault that can plague his chances of being re-elected by a majority of the public who only see the issues that have held his presidency back, rather than the efforts he has made to progress it. If he relies only on his popularity, he’s in trouble.  But to say that his approval rating alone will keep him from the White House is certainly incorrect.

Consider not only what anyone says on the campaign trail, but their ability to execute in any given situation.



Mentioned Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8779504/US-Election-2012-Is-Barack-Obama-an-underdog.html

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