The dynamics of this year’s mid-term elections is really quite interesting.
Some Democrats on the campaign trail have hit upon a winning campaign tactic: Run against President Obama and his agenda — especially the health care overhaul.
Democrat Mark Critz railed against the Obama administration’s health care reforms while campaigning in his western Pennsylvania district — and was easily elected to the House.
In West Virginia, Democratic stalwart Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, who voted against an administration-backed energy bill last year, was defeated in his primary after his challenger accused him of not having enough disdain for the measure that was wildly unpopular in his home district. He also was hammered for supporting health care reform.
Rep. Joe Sestak, in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary, challenged the White-House-endorsed five-term incumbent, Sen. Arlen Specter, and was rewarded with a cushy eight percentage-point win.
As Obama sees Democrats distancing themselves from him, he’s decided to run against neither incumbent nor candidate. He’s campaigning against Bush.
President Barack Obama is trying to ride the wave of anti-incumbency by taking on an unpopular politician steeped in the partisan ways of Washington.
It doesn’t matter that George W. Bush left office 16 months ago.
The White House’s mid-term election strategy is becoming clear – pit the Democrats of 2010 against the Republicans circa 2006, 2008 and 2009, including Bush.
It’s a lot to ask an angry, finicky electorate to sort out. And even if Obama can rightfully make the case that the economy took a turn for the worse under Bush’s watch, he’s already made it – in 2008 and repeatedly in 2009.
It’s not clear that voters still want to hear it.
My guess is they won’t. Obama can’t spending nearly two years in office and run against his predecessor. The fact that such a strategy is even considered proves the White House believes Obama and the Democrats don’t have much of a record to run on. And, quite frankly, that would be correct. The economy isn’t getting much better. The unemployment rate still flirts with double digits. Obama’s stimulus failed. Terror attacks in this country were foiled, not by our country’s anti-terror methods, but by mere luck and private citizen intervention. The oil spill in the Gulf gets worse with little interest from Obama. The health care bill remains unpopular.
All kind of makes sense now doesn’t it? Obama has nothing to run on, so he might as well run against Bush, a man whose legacy has only improved in the eyes of Americans since he left office.
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