The 2012 presidential election is starting early as the Republicans choose who they want to be their nominee to run against Obama a year and 7 months from now. Here’s my analysis on how each party can win and not suck immediately after their winning:
DEMOCRATS:
Barack Obama is the sitting President and thus will be his parties nominee. but what can he do to ensure his re-election?
There has been a lot of talk about him swapping out Vice President Joe Biden with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During the 08 election, this was considered and Jill Biden, Joe’s wife, let it slip on Oprah that Obama straight up offered Biden either job for him to choose. Pundits have said this will never happen and the Whitehouse says it will not happen and it won’t. But it should. It would be a breath of newness, add excitement and make the 2012 election another history-maker with the first elected female Vice President.
He also needs to shore up his cratering support with white voters by energizing Latinos with something big before the election. I would also like to see him actually do something to help the black community and the shithole urban areas they mostly reside in and/or generally do something other than just being president and forever being the “see? you CAN do it, so quit whining about the man holding you down” example, but that appears unlikely as he hasn’t done anything yet and his approval among black voters remains around the 94% of the vote he got from them in 08 (but that’s not racist because…idk why). Sadly, this probably won’t happen, because like black voters, Democrats know they have hispanic voters in the bag and don’t need to offer anything positive as long as they offer enough negativity in convincing people that Republicans are anti-hispanic.
Cabinet appointments that should be made and changed: #1 priority should be to get in a capable and effective White House Press secretary. The Obama Administrations first Press Sec, Robert Gibbs was a disaster. I have no idea how he kept that job so long. The guy who replaced him I guess is doing okay since I haven’t been seeing him in the news like I did Gibbs with his gaffe-o-minute record, but having a guy do just an adequate job seems super lame considering Obamas effectiveness as a communicator. He should have someone in the job doing somewhere around at least half as good a job as he does himself.
REPUBLICANS:
It’s between the two Mormons, Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney to get the nomination, and if they eff it up, then the party will be stuck with the snoozefest that is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who will then go on to lose to Obama, in part because America is not ready to elect Harland Williams clone president of the country (remember Rocketman? lol).
Romney is smart and capable but so not people-savvy that it borders on being a social disorder and his failed bid at the 2008 nomination beat up his reputation badly. A lot of the attacks against him are wildly unfair and some are just plain silly (like that he’s not pro-lifey enough. oh please, evangelicals, give it a rest already). His campaign logo also looks ridiculously like a swath of Aquafresh toothpaste, so I’m going to give the odds to Huntsman at this point.
Jon Huntsman is basically Mitt Romney without the baggage and a few more plusses in his column. While Romney has his health care reform to deal with that, like Obama’s health care reform, required citizens to purchase health insurance (something conservatives believe is unconstitutional, claiming it is every persons right to engage or abstain from commerce without the Government forcing ones hand either way), Huntsman also reformed health care but in the opposite (ie: conservative) way:
As governor, Huntsman listed economic development, health-care reform, education, and energy security as his top priorities. He oversaw large tax cuts and advocated reorganizing the way that services were distributed so that the government would not become overwhelmed by the state’s fast growing population. He also proposed a plan to reform health-care, mainly through the private sector, by using tax breaks and negotiation to keep prices down.
He’s also a former successful business man, former 2 term Governor of Utah (Romney only served 1 term as Gov in Massachusetts) during a time when the states economy boomed while the rest of the countries crumbled, and he has the same “problems” as Romney with Social Conservatives in that he favors civil unions for homosexuals – which is the same position George W Bush and Barack Obama have on the issue, btw – although it’s extra interesting that the 2 Mormons in the race are the candidates with the most pro-gay policy history. Interesting because Mormons have been relentlessly attacked for being the reason Prop 8 (resolution to define marriage as between one man and one woman) passed in California in 2008.
A Huntsman/Romney ticket would be great in that you would get all of Romney’s positives and none of his negatives if he were on the bottom of the ticket, however that would spell death for the party as an all-Mormon ticket, though a perfect pairing would do more than piss off Huckabee supporting Evangelicals, – it would lose votes and get distractingly bad press.
If Huntsmans the nominee, I think he needs to choose between Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as his veep.
If Romney is the top half, I think his choices are the same, but swap Christie for 3rd term Governor of Texas, Rick Perry (or someone else with Social-con and Tea Party cred).
Either one of them should appoint former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General and Herman Cain to…something. and pull someone from talk radio like Salem Radio Host, Hugh Hewitt (a big time Romney supporter) to be press secretary. Tony Snow was amazing – truly the best at that gig. It might be a tasteless phrase to use since he’s since passed away, but he really did kill it, every day. Would like to see someone that capable again.
Predictions:
-Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin will choose to keep their jobs as media commentators instead of running for the nomination that they will not get.
-Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann runs, and Jon Huntsman I think (obviously) will run even though he’s not declared an exploratory committee or anything yet.
-Newt Gingrich will run but drop out early (UPDATE: exactly as last nights Saturday Night Live sketch depicted him doing. lol!).