My views on the 2012 Democratic field. by Jay Wendt
(centrist)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
To be fair, since I gave my critique of the Republican field for 2012, now I shall do the same with the Democrats. True, it is only 2010 right now, but again the field is underwhelming. Obama's recent victory in 2008 may have given the left a strong vibe about their place in American politics; unfortunately by 2010 they have squandered every advantage to the point of threatening their majority in the legislature. The long term solution is having a Democratic version of Reagan or a new JFK to get the troops energized. But, from the looks of it, I doubt that will happen. Let me just review the reasons, candidate by candidate.
Obama: President and Chicago politician. I will admit that he is doing a better job then I thought he would, unfortunately he is just a poor planner and not an inspiring leader. He is an idealist with an intellectual mindset, in country that is for the most part unrefined and pretty much more redneck then the rest of the industrialized world. His administration has become a comedy of errors, with an insane amount of vacancies for federal positions and a bizarre focus on healthcare reform during a major recssion. So, if Obama was seriously considering running for re-election, he should probably fire his entire Economic team, his entire Foreign policy team, and most of his senior advisors because they are hurting him the most at this point. Another thing that may help Obama is dumping Joe Biden, due to Biden's inability to keep his mouth shut. However, if Obama does not make any change similar to this (which I doubt he will), then I highly doubt he could win re-election. I would like to see someone else get the Democratic nomination; however, if Obama does not win the nomination for re-election, the Democrats do risk the black vote. So, in effect there is a catch-22 with regards to Obama: nominate him and definitely lose; or nominate someone else, alienate black voters and possibly lose.
Dean: A former Governor, Doctor, and a screamer. I personally view him as far more moderate then Obama and he does have a record of being a responsible (and somewhat conservative) Governor. Unfortunately, I do not think he could win the nomination unless there was a major anti-Obama mood in the party, and possibly a revolt among the more conservative elements in the party against the more liberal establishment.
Kerry: Senator and veteran. I do not like Kerry, but if he ran I do feel he would win the nomination against Obama. His military experience and his foreign policy experience would make him a more formidable candidate in the general election then an incumbent President who just likes to talk and talk and accomplish nothing. He would make a much better President then Obama, and he was the better candidate in 2004. Unfortunately, Kerry's demeanor is not very Presidential, he's just too bland and somewhat soul-less.
Clinton: Senator and Secretary of State. She would not win, for the same reasons why Obama would not win in 2012. She was too polarizing before she became Secretary of State. Now that she is connected to a failed foreign policy and has shown a rather amateurish performance doing her duties, she should not be even considered a serious candidate for the Presidency.
Bayh: Senator and former Governor. If he had voted no on the healthcare bill and decided to run for re-election to the US Senate, then yes he is planning to run for President from Obama's right. However, since he decided to vote yes on the healthcare bill and he represents a state that voted for Bush twice and has a Governor that was a Bush aide, I think he has pretty much given up on politics.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 0
thumbs so far
The views expressed
in this article are those of Jay Wendt only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Jay Wendt is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
