• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Can Obama be Beat in 2012

Can Obama be Beat in 2012?


  • Total voters
    25

X Factor

Anti-Socialist
Dungeon Master
DP Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
61,606
Reaction score
32,215
Location
El Paso Strong
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Conservative
Simple question. Some are saying Obama's a shoe-in to get re-elected next year. What do you all think, is Obama an unbeatable juggernaut or not?
 
Last edited:
If a republican runs against Obama hes toast....if a far right teaparty candidate wins the primary he will win....
 
If a republican runs against Obama hes toast....if a far right teaparty candidate wins the primary he will win....

A third party candidate cannot win, I don't believe.
 
Actually I see it as doubtful. Unemployment and economic issues are too bad right now... and insane amount of improvement would make Obama's run next year easier. If I look historically --- I'd say he's no shoe in, he's probably halfway out already.
 
i have not heard the words 'shoe in' and 'Obama re-election' in the same sentence anywhere. Who is saying it?
 
Simple question. Some are saying Obama's a shoe-in to get re-elected next year. What do you all think, is Obama an unbeatable juggernaut or not?

Of course not. No one is ever a shoo-in 17 months before an election.
 
Anyone who believes he's unbeatable: get your head checked.

Anyone who believes he'll be easily defeated: get your head checked.

Kids a fighter, he's made it outta tight spots before, don't underestimate the power of the... Dark side? :lol:
 
Simple question. Some are saying Obama's a shoe-in to get re-elected next year. What do you all think, is Obama an unbeatable juggernaut or not?

Can he be beat? Of course he can. Will he? I don't see any candidate I think has a good shot at it, assuming no significant changes over the next year and a half. Of course, a year and a half without significant changes is pretty much an impossibility, so who knows. Obama has the edge right now as sitting president who will have a large amount of money to spend, but there are lots of paths to his defeat, mostly involving what the economy does between now and election.
 
I'm nervous about it... i don't really know, he's just so damn charismatic... i hate that.
 
Howard Dean seems to think Obama is beatable...especially if he's running against Palin.

Now, I think a lot of America has seen him speak enough that they know the difference between confidently reading a teleprompter and confidently understanding the material. He doesn't seem to understand what he once preached and many people see him as in over his head.
 
Can he be beat? Of course he can. Will he? I don't see any candidate I think has a good shot at it, assuming no significant changes over the next year and a half. Of course, a year and a half without significant changes is pretty much an impossibility, so who knows. Obama has the edge right now as sitting president who will have a large amount of money to spend, but there are lots of paths to his defeat, mostly involving what the economy does between now and election.

Well i would make my own post but why when this sums its up perfectly IMO.

ANYBODY can be beat but IMO unless someone new comes out I dont see Obama every losing to Palin, West, Cain, Romney, Newt, or Bachman.

yes I know some of those people aren't officially running Im just going off of what people say here.

Again like you said ask me again a year and half maybe my answer will be different but Ill go on record saying this, any Cain/Palin/ Bachmann ticket gets destroyed IMO.

It has to be someone real and without the typical bias partisan attack attitude that most politician use now and not really focusing on the issue.

Simply attacking is how bush got two terms. Lots of people were so sure he wouldnt, didnt go vote themselves and the genius running against him did nothing but attack.

The american people need substance right now because they are fed up with the attacking and if you put a talking point partisan pundit up there to run against obama many people even the ones unhappy are going to ride it out instead of switch.
 
Last edited:
Simple question. Some are saying Obama's a shoe-in to get re-elected next year. What do you all think, is Obama an unbeatable juggernaut or not?
Of course he can be beat, but despite efforts from right, Obama is pretty well liked by the American public. Incumbents usually have the edge and the GOP field is really weak. Oh, wait Rick Santorum entered the race today. :lamo


Howard Dean seems to think Obama is beatable...especially if he's running against Palin.
Howard Dean clarified his statement today, saying the Democrats shouldn't assume Obama can't be beat.

Now, I think a lot of America has seen him speak enough that they know the difference between confidently reading a teleprompter and confidently understanding the material. He doesn't seem to understand what he once preached and many people see him as in over his head.
Really???
 
Yes he can be beat under the right circumstances but those circumstances dont look like to be turning out good for the opposition of Obama.
 
It really depends on the economy. I say right now that if the unemployment rate is above 8.5% come November, he will lose to any remotely credible Republican candidate. If it's lower than 8.5, he will win a re-election almost independently of who he runs against.
 
It really depends on the economy. I say right now that if the unemployment rate is above 8.5% come November, he will lose to any remotely credible Republican candidate. If it's lower than 8.5, he will win a re-election almost independently of who he runs against.

I really do not think there is any 'magic number' like so many seem to say. I think what will matter is if there is a sense that we have made progress economically. And even if that sense is in question, he still could win. Things look pretty ugly economically today, and yet Obama consistently outpolls every possible challenger.

So I'd say that yeah, he's not invincible, but it's hard to imagine him losing.
 
the only person who can defeat Obama is Obama

there is no person among the current crop of prospective republican candidates who can unseat Obama

the republicans have conceded the hispanic vote
don't see any republican able to grab the black vote
Gary Johnson is the only republican who could have challenged Obama for the youth demographic; but the republicans won't even let him participate in party events
and the republican's proposal to undermine medicare will hollow out the geezer support

with no viable republican opposition on the horizon, why would anyone bet against Obama being a two term president
 
i have not heard the words 'shoe in' and 'Obama re-election' in the same sentence anywhere. Who is saying it?

What Obama has against him is the low unemployment rate. No President has gotten re-elected when the unemployment rate was lower than 7% (I believe) since FDR. So statistics regarding the economy are against him.

However, the Republicans have to offer up a viable alternative to Obama to challenge him in the general eelction. So far, the GOP hasn't gotten behind any one candidate yet. The GOP is also split on which direction it wants to go - paleoconservative (Palin), right-wing (Pawlenty, Santorum), or center-right (Romney). If the GOP primary puts up a candidate who is too far the right they won't win the general election. But, then again, GOP voters tend to demand candidates that are highly ideological.

So it really depends on two things - 1) what kind of shift the economy will bring as the election comes closer and 2) whether the GOP offers up a candidate who can compete with Obama for moderates and independents.
 
He can be beat, but it's not a foregone conclusion yet.
 
I'd like to see him primaried. The GOP is really floundering for real, honest to God, leadership and I don't see them offering anyone who is anything more than a safe re-tread. It's the same with the Democrats except that they have a man in the White House.

I'm an independent for a reason. I sincerely believe that the two party system should be called Corpgov. Big Business/Money owns Washington. Period. They own Obama and they will own whomever runs against him.

Until people see that neither party is capable or willing to get America back on track they are going to continue to vote for Corpgov candidates. In the end it will matter little if a GOP candidate can beat Obama.
 
I really do not think there is any 'magic number' like so many seem to say. I think what will matter is if there is a sense that we have made progress economically. And even if that sense is in question, he still could win. Things look pretty ugly economically today, and yet Obama consistently outpolls every possible challenger.

So I'd say that yeah, he's not invincible, but it's hard to imagine him losing.

Nice first post, I gave you your first thanks. Welcome to the board here.
 
I have to say that I'm not really sure. I never expected Bill Clinton or G.W. Bush to get re-elected but they both did.

Personal opinion aside, just going from a "Mr. Spock" perspective I would have to say that, short of a major October surprise or some other measurable, unforgivable scandal, Obama's pretty much got it locked in. That being said, let us all remember that the political pendulum is always in constant motion, as we seen the last round of elections, even after the Obama landslide, many republicans were elected the next cycle.

The question is how far it swings before the it swings back. If the elections were held today, Obama would be a shoe-in as the republicans aren't really doing that well in moderate, centrist America. Further, they really have no definitive platform or common agenda. Their candidates appear weak and not quite ready for prime time. And then there are those goof-balls semi-candidates sucking all of the air out of the room, distracting the more gullible right siders, with their snake-oil, carnival barker shows. I would venture to say those folks make up about 12-20% of the GOP voting block and they are so stoned on tea everyone is shying away from their sillyness as to not be made guilty by association. But they still need tthose folks, none-the-less. How can they suck up and yet remain seperated from them all at the same time? That's gonna be a tough one.

No, I'm gonna have to say, get ready for 4 more years of Obama if things don't radically change.
 
Last edited:
It really depends on the economy. I say right now that if the unemployment rate is above 8.5% come November, he will lose to any remotely credible Republican candidate. If it's lower than 8.5, he will win a re-election almost independently of who he runs against.

In the post-war era, no President has been reelected with an unemployment rate above 7.2%. We would have to add a quarter of a million jobs every month between here and November 2012 to get down to 7. In addition, Obama would be the first third-two-term-president-in-a-row since the Jefferson-Madison-Monroe administrations in which there weren't even really competing parties. People are looking for... dare we say it... "change" :D



Right now, as I see it, the election is tilted heavy against the President. Republicans will have to really screw the goose or Obama will have to really pull something out of his hat to change that equation. He needs an economic boom that just ain't coming; or the Republican nominee to get caught in a sex scandal.
 
Last edited:
I voted "No" simply because there is no one that is currently running or likely to run that is going to beat him. Absent a stealth candidate that the GOP can bring forward, Obama will win.
 
I have to say that I'm not really sure. I never expected Bill Clinton or G.W. Bush to get re-elected but they both did.

Personal opinion aside, just going from a "Mr. Spock" perspective I would have to say that, short of a major October surprise or some other measurable, unforgivable scandal, Obama's pretty much got it locked in. That being said, let us all remember that the political pendulum is always in constant motion, as we seen the last round of elections, even after the Obama landslide, many republicans were elected the next cycle.

The question is how far it swings before the it swings back. If the elections were held today, Obama would be a shoe-in as the republicans aren't really doing that well in moderate, centrist America. Further, they really have no definitive platform or common agenda. Their candidates appear weak and not quite ready for prime time. And then there are those goof-balls semi-candidates sucking all of the air out of the room, distracting the more gullible right siders, with their snake-oil, carnival barker shows. I would venture to say those folks make up about 12-20% of the GOP voting block and they are so stoned on tea everyone is shying away from their sillyness as to not be made guilty by association. But they still need tthose folks, none-the-less. How can they suck up and yet remain seperated from them all at the same time? That's gonna be a tough one.

No, I'm gonna have to say, get ready for 4 more years of Obama if things don't radically change.


You didn't expect Clinton to be re-elected over Bob Dole? Are you serious?
 
Back
Top Bottom