Presidential Predictions - And Some Ohio Thoughts
First, I want to say that my fellow bloggers over at Plunderbund, Ohio Daily Blog, and others have done a fantastic job in covering the various political battles in Ohio regarding SB 5 and the Republican attempts to run the State of Ohio back to the Stone Age. Certainly I voted No on Issues 1, 2, and 3 but I have been so disengaged in many of these fights because I knew that in many ways Ohioans would reject these ridiculous plans to punish teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public employees simply to score political points with a national GOP that has lurched so far to the right as to be unrecognizable.
By any measure of presidential politics, (and certainly comparing this election to other presidential contests throughout our history) President Barack Obama would be a one term president. To say this as a progressive makes me incredibly sad but as a realist, it is absolutely the truth. We have not seen this level of economic instability since the Great Depression and I do not think that it is even over yet. I have serious concerns about the EU and how that could affect our economy. Now, most of this is not the President's fault. I would have liked to see a bigger stimulus but that is in the past. What is absolutely shocking to me is that President Obama is currently beating all of his potential Republican opponents and running even with Mitt Romney. The only reason I can come up with is that the Republican Party's policies and their candidates for president are so off-putting that the American people simply refuse to consider supporting them. I thought with this post we would take a look at the GOP candidates and I would share why I think they don't have a chance.
Mitt Romney - This guy is like the weather in Columbus. If you don't like his position, wait 5 minutes. He has never met a position he could not change. This does not even take into account the fact that Romney's Mormonism is looked upon so poorly by evangelicals that were he the nominee I think Barack Obama could actually play in states like Georgia.
Herman Cain - Have you seen the signs being carried by Tea Party supporters? Have you heard of the Bradley Effect? That is all I have to say about that.
Rick Perry - He makes President George W. Bush look like a member of Mensa. Rick Perry could possibly get the nomination but he would lose badly to President Obama - especially in the debates.
The rest of the field has no chance - with one exception. Jon Huntsman is an attractive candidate for President and I could see many people supporting him because of his intelligence and his positions. He represents the Republican Party of old - nice, smart, great ideas, conservative, and not crazy. If Jon Huntsman weren't at 1% I think he could have a shot.
What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts!
