Barack Obama's 10 biggest challenges in 2012 (535 hits)
Now that 2011 has faded to black, let's explore some of the major issues President Barack Obama will face in the coming year.
THE ELECTION:
Redistricting, Gerrymandering and Voter ID Laws
On many levels, Republicans have been running a non-stop campaign since November 5, 2008 to recapture the White House and defeat Barack Obama. Indeed, it was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who said his number one priority was to defeat the president in 2012.
The GOP knows that despite the economic lag and slow recovery, Obama remains extremely popular with the American public. As such, they have waged a strategic war that uses legal, though immoral, tools to suppress the Democratic vote. Namely, redistricting, which has handed over previously Democratic voting districts, to Republicans; and restrictive voter identification laws that disproportionately affect African-Americans, Hispanics, young college age voters, the elderly and the poor: all of whom are demographics most likely to vote for the president in 2012.
Redistricting, which occurs every 10 years after the census count, is left to state legislatures. After the success of Tea Party candidates in 2010, many states, especially in the South, have Republican-controlled legislatures, allowing then to redraw the lines in a manner that benefits the GOP. That method of manipulating voting boundaries is called 'gerrymandering', and the direct result is that a minority of a state's voters can actually elect a majority of its representatives. The GOP is using this method, in addition to sweeping new voter-id laws, to sway the 2012 vote in their direction.
But it appears Obama has a secret weapon in Attorney General Eric Holder, who last week blocked South Carolina's new voter law, which he said does not meet the standards set by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Holder's team are also reviewing new voter requirements in Texas, where the new law bars students from using their student ID to vote, but a concealed weapons license is sufficient. Similar laws in Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin are also under review, and since most of the recent presidential elections have been decided in close battles, every vote must count.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Beyond the GOP's concerted effort to win by suppression and obstruction, Obama faces the sleeping economic giant: American joblessness.
Reports last month showing the unemployment rate decreased to 8.6 percent was good political news for the president. But the underlying Labor Statistics reveal many of the long-term unemployed have simply stopped looking for work. This isn't good news for the nation, the economy or candidate Obama, as it shows the effects of the Great Recession are having a sustained, systemic impact on the American jobs market.
In September, President Obama boldly introduced the American Jobs Act which, if enacted, could create as many as 2 million new jobs according to the CBO, but like much of Obama's plans has been obstructed by House Speaker Boehner and the Tea Party Caucus.
Obama's challenge, especially in an election year, facing an incalcitrant Congress, will be to find ways to stimulate the economy, convince the American voter that his approach has worked, and that the Stimulus package actually had a real and positive impact. Given research that shows how many jobs were saved or created because of Obama's actions means the stars are aligned in his favor, but with so many people still struggling to find employment, it remains a hard sale.
THE SUPREME COURT:
Health care Reform
The Affordable Care Act, President Obama's chief legislative victory, has also become his greatest political liability. Demonized by Republicans so effectively it helped fuel the Tea Party rise and success in the 2010 mid-term elections, health care reform (more widely known by its moniker 'Obamacare') will face its greatest challenge when the U.S. Supreme Court decides on its constitutionality.
A tactic of the right-wing, anti-Obama agenda which took root in 2009 included a nationwide challenge in Federal court by Republican State Attorney Generals, claiming the 'individual mandate' was unconstitutional. Following various decisions in different Federal district courts, the Supreme Court was all but forced to hear the case due to its national and historic importance. The March hearing will likely lead to a decision in June or July, right in the midst of the heated race for the White House.
Political strategists think if the mandate is ruled constitutional by the conservative-leaning court, it will be a big win for Obama.
However, if the 'individual mandate' loses its constitutional battle the other provisions of Obamacare will survive, which means the legislation will be sent back to Congress for changes. Pelosi, Reid and Obama will be back in the saddle and perhaps able to deliver on a more progressive Affordable Care Act, especially if Democrats unseat incumbents come November, and the power shifts in the House of Representatives.
The best strategy Obama can employ now is reminding voters that his plan has given families broader coverage and more options. Sick children can no longer be denied coverage, patients with pre-existing conditions are protected and parents can now use their own insurance to cover their unemployed, adult children until the age of 26.
That is care, and change, still worth believing in.
There is no way "I" will believe our president has to do any thing. If the voters don't know the Republicans got such a giant win in the last election on they would creat jobs or the 8.5 % of jobless ness is not as bad as 10%- 12% of joblessness then he should not even wast his time on this...
Hell, he ended tha war saving how many $billions already and those running now for president are condemning him for soing this because the wars don't cost any mooney...why should he was hismind...
oh, but Jen you can't understand any thing I say now do you???????????????????
SO WHAT THIS POST SAYS IS TRUE THE PRESIDENT IS IN A WHOLE HEAP OF TROUBLE, BECAUSE N ONE ON THE RIGHT KNOWS ANY THING ABOUT WHAT HE IS DOING AS PRESIDENT FOR THIS SAME REASON AS TOSE RUNNING AGAINST HIM SURE AE ADMITING THIS EVERY DAY. (ROTFLMAO) (SMILE)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
