Re-election hinges on uncertain successes
Vice President Joe Biden spoke at a re-election fundraiser Monday night, touting the Osama bin Laden raid as one of the biggest successes of this administration’s time in office. Biden continued, saying that should the operation have failed, it’s unlikely President Barack Obama could win the re-election. While the finality of an epic manhunt that took years is certainly an accomplishment, it shouldn’t be one of the cornerstones of a re-election campaign.
Obama has had a busy time in office, guiding a precarious economy on the brink of collapse, passing an overarching health care reform and attempting to manage a polarized congress. But the problem with most of these “accomplishments” is that the American public hasn’t seen any benefits of the work this administration has pushed. In fact, its key legislation is set to be examined by the Supreme Court in the coming weeks to determine whether the reform is constitutionally sound.
It’s hard to argue that the economy is still far from ideal. Sure, the Obama administration inherited many of the flaws that cause collapse, but it’s also failed to stem the tide of unemployment. Still solidly above the 8 percent mark, no president has won re-election with such high unemployment. And while we’ve seen signs of economic recovery in the past couple months, it’s not clear if it’ll be enough for Obama to use come election season.
Health care reform was one of Obama’s larger points during his initial election run, and while the legislation was passed largely in tact, it’s faced endless criticism from states and local governments. The issue is now up for the Supreme Court to decide. Having the cornerstone piece of legislation up for review by the supreme law of the land leaves a massive hole in the administration’s ability to tout its successes.
Last, Congress’ continuous gridlock and temporary stopgap measures leave little room for Obama to tout his ability to manage and compromise to get things done. The administration has been unable to reach a long-term budget resolution to curb the national debt. Instead, it has resorted to short-term deals to stave off the financial meltdown of the U.S. government. None of these short-term, “kick the can down the road” solutions could stand the muster demanded of a re-election campaign.
Which leaves us with the successful raid of the Osama bin Laden complex. It’s undoubtedly a great success that stirred the patriotism of the entire nation. And sure, bravo for Obama giving the go order, but at the end of the day, it’s a singular event that’s been in pursuit for years. It’s not necessarily an event that you can ride through a presidential election.
Obama may very well win, but his great “successes” can easily come undone between now and November. Should the economy decline and the health care reform be seen unfavorably by the Supreme Court, Obama won’t have many successes to ride to a convincing re-election victory.
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