Saturday, November 13, 2010
Douglas Schoen and Patrick Caddell are insane:They wrote this: (excerpts, emp added) ... we believe Obama should announce immediately that he will not be a candidate for reelection in 2012.
... by explicitly saying he will be a one-term president, Obama can deliver on his central campaign promise of 2008, draining the poison from our culture of polarization and ending the resentment and division that have eroded our national identity and common purpose.
Obama ... should dispense with the pollsters ...
Obama can restore the promise of the election by forging a government of national unity, welcoming business leaders, Republicans and independents into the fold. But if he is to bring Democrats and Republicans together, the president cannot be seen as an advocate of a particular party, but as somebody who stands above politics, seeking to forge consensus.
Forgoing another term would not render Obama a lame duck. Paradoxically, it would grant him much greater leverage with Republicans ...
Given the influence of special interests on the Democratic Party, Obama would be much more effective as a figure who could remain above the political fray.
... if the president were to demonstrate a clear degree of bipartisanship, it would force the Republicans to meet him halfway. If they didn't, they would look intransigent, as the GOP did in 1995 and 1996, when Bill Clinton first advocated a balanced budget. Obama could then go to the Democrats for tough cuts to entitlements and look to the Republicans for difficult cuts on defense.
If the president adopts our suggestion, both sides will be forced to compromise.
The worst-case scenario for Obama? In January 2013, he walks away from the White House having been transformative in two ways: as the first black president, yes, but also as a man who governed in a manner unmatched by any modern leader. He will have reconciled the nation, continued the economic recovery, gained a measure of control over the fiscal problems that threaten our future, and forged critical solutions to our international challenges.
It is no secret that we have been openly critical of the president in recent days, but we make this proposal with the deepest sincerity and hope for him and for the country. At the end, there is this: Patrick H. Caddell ... was a pollster and senior adviser to President Jimmy Carter ... Douglas E. Schoen, [was] a pollster who worked for President Bill Clinton ... What a joke. What a fairy-tale. Republicans, especially the new crop coming in 2011, are not going to give Obama an inch, no matter what he does. That this advice should come out when many Democrats are critical of Obama for not fighting for policies, tells you that Schoen and Caddell are doing spade work for the Republicans. These guys are Fox News Democrats, "helpfully" suggesting Obama relinquish power. (Also, It looks as if they might be trying to figure a way for Hillary Clinton to run in 2012.) Reactions: Jason Linkins at HuffPo thought the column was a joke. Byron York declared the logic faulty. Daniel Larison calls it "extremely bad advice". You have voices from all parts of the political spectrum dismissing the Schoen/Caddell column, which makes you wonder why the Washington Post published it in the first place.
posted by Quiddity at 11/13/2010 09:19:00 PM
14 comments
I have moderate Democratic friends. One has been displaying her Obama/Biden car magnetic in support of Obama. They have decided that the Bush tax cuts for the rich are a litmus test. If Obama compromises, it will be the last straw. I hope that bipartisan thing wins him a lot of Republican votes, because it is going to cost him. Maybe, he is now sees himself as a one term president.
I think there is a good chance he'll be a one-termer for a variety of reasons (still sluggish economy, disenchanted Democrats), but the Schoen / Caddell op-ed was ridiculous and nothing more than Dem-bashing.
I think that what Mssrs. Schoen and Caddell really mean is that Obama should officially switch to the Republican party. Because just dancing to the Republican's tune is not enough.
Yes, that column was ridiculous. I get the dead tree edition and just looked at the headline and laughed and didn't read it.
But I think what's going on here, at least partly, is the "pundits maintain interest in their work by being contrarian" thing.
They are delicately suggesting to Obama that if he makes an announcement that he will not seek a second term, Congress may hold off on impeachment proceedings and let him leave with dignity.
If the Republicans institute impeachment proceedings, that will assure a second term for Pres. Obama. Perhaps the Republicans may try an end-around their raciality by proposing repeal of the 14th Amendment. Republicans being delicate? I think not.
jms blithered incoherently, ...Congress may hold off on impeachment proceedings and let him leave with dignity.
LOL. If the Rethuglicans impeach Obama, they'll go from laughingstocks for having impeached Clinton to beyond laughingstocks. Not that they're not there already for multiple reasons.
I never said anything about the Republicans impeaching Obama.
LOL. Who's going to impeach Obama? The Democrats?
God, you're such an idiot.
I assumed the "impeach" comment was made in jest...
If Obama, or more accurately, the Ego Known as Obama runs for reelection in 2012, he has the ability to incinerate the Democrats once again, especially in the Senate, where twice as many Democrats will be defending their seats as Republicans.
Hannity may or may not be blowing smoke out of his ass, but this is the sort of battleground preparation that politicians do when they are quietly sharpening their knives.
I don't expect the Republicans to even suggest impeachment. They may not allow it. At the Congressional and State level, Obama has been an incredible gift -- this election has wiped out hundreds of career Democratic politicians -- the "farm teams" for the House and Senate. If Obama were to fend off primary challengers and launch another Presidential campaign, the Democrats could easily lose more state legislatures, the Presidency, and enough House seats in the election to bring the Republicans up to 60 seats. They would need to pick up 12 of the 21 Democratic seats.
If the Democrats are able to purge Obama, then everything changes. The Democrats can effectively hit the reset button and run a "responsible moderate leadership" campaign against the Republican/Tea Party "Conservative Government" campaign, and they might save their party. Another "Hope and Change" campaign will be a disaster for the Democrats and "Hope and Change" is the Obama pony's one and only trick.
So yes, much as you all think I'm crazy, I am dead serious. I predict a strong movement within the Democratic party to remove Barack Obama from office if he attempts to run for a second term, and I think that it has a strong likelihood of success, should the Republicans cooperate, which they may decide not to do.
"We have just lost this election, we need to draw a line," [George Soros] said, according to several Democratic sources. "And if this president can't do what we need, it is time to start looking somewhere else."
His advisor tries to walk the statement back, unconvincingly.
You also noticed the increase in racial language against Obama.
The signs are all there, if you care to look. Don't be too attached to Obama. He is disposable. It has nothing to do with racism. It's all politics. He's a loser, and good politicians don't back no losers.
who were schoen and caddell funded by?
The Washington Post, apparently. But they used to be Democratic Presidential advisors for Carter and Clinton before they became enamored with the tea party, so maybe they know how to read the tea leaves. No pun intended.
You got something more sinister?
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