So, the Republicans are going to take the House. Their party platform seems to have one goal, get Obama out of office. What if Obama fucked with them and decided not to run. Then the Republicans who have been working for 2 years to build a case against Obama, would be complete unprepared for the 2012 election.

Discuss.

Do you think another Democrat would be able to defeat the Republican challenger?

The approval ratings have both got to be in the toilet right now. I don't know if it was like this everywhere, but down here almost every political ad I saw, with the exception of the governor's race there was virtually no party identification which I found interesting.

I think with as badly as both parties are performing it's impossible to give either party a definitive edge in the 2012 presidential race yet.

This depends on whether that challenger is Ron Paul.

Obama won the election and had very high popularity numbers at the outset of his administration. It is really not out of the realm of possibility that his image will rally and he can be in a position to win re-election two years from now. Clinton did essentially that (so did Jed Bartlet ). Bush II seemed like a sure thing for re-election at various points in his first term, then got a very strong challenge from a pretty woeful candidate.

A lot can happen in 2 years. I'm pretty sure 2 years ago no one foresaw where we are now. And there are a lot of books about the death of the conservative movement to prove it.

The R candidate certainly makes a difference. Does Clinton win re-election (or at least do it so convincingly) if the Reps pick a better candidate than Dole?

Pssshht even John Kerry could beat Ron Paul.

I know.

Actually, the Republicans nominating Ron Paul, or subsequently appointing him to any position of importance, would be a huge tell. He's generally persona non-grata in Respectable Conservative circles, so his ascension would signal that things are about to get real bad, real quick, as it's quite convenient to lay blame on political outsiders.

I know you knew.

He really needs to ditch the (R). Like as soon as Republican debates/primaries are over. Use all the PR time as part of the Republican primary and then make a clean break,

Alright, well, how about the Democrats just keep this one in their quiver for now.

I'd rather see politicians solving the immense problems we face than worrying about elections that are years away.

term limits, my friend

Unless you are a congressman.

Also - I do NOT see Obama stepping aside for another Democrat to run, (unless something really drastic happens). I think his ego is too big to "take one for the team."

I gave up hope in that possibility years ago.

That's three of us. I feel that the days of politicians doing what's best for their constituents are (sadly) long gone. I'm (blindly) optimistic that this will change, but untill I see it happen...

I predict he chooses a reason to drop Biden, runs with Hillary and wins in 2012.

That thought never crossed my mind, but now that you mention it, it would make sense. Especially if (because) Hillary wants to run in 2016.

I think Hillary hates the living sh!t out of Obama, and wants to run herself in 2012.

It's hard to read much into this election other than the fact that people are fed up with everything and don't understand why.

It's hard to say now but I don't see her getting her party's nod over a sitting President.