Election Campaign in America: Don’t Panic
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 15 June 2011
by Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (link to
original)
President Carter had no chance against Reagan in 1980 because in opposition to optimistic conservatism, he could offer only a gloomy, voter-deterring reality. George H. W. Bush drew the short straw against Clinton, because the latter beat him about the ears with the topic of the economy, and because on top of that, a third candidate by the name of Perot poached the Republican vote.
So, a question: Is it possible that Barack Obama, too, will have to call the movers after just one term? Answer: It is possible. The unemployment rate is dangerously high, the economy has yet to bounce back, the national debt has reached crisis levels, and Obama’s health care reform is no shining success.
If there were a contender of caliber and attractiveness, then more could be made of the possibility. But possible is still not the same as probable. The introduction of the Republican would-be presidential candidates need not cause panic in the White House. Obama should feel anything but secure; the opposition still needs to dramatically pick up the pace.
So, a question: Is it possible that Barack Obama, too, will have to call the movers after just one term? Answer: It is possible. The unemployment rate is dangerously high, the economy has yet to bounce back, the national debt has reached crisis levels, and Obama’s health care reform is no shining success.
If there were a contender of caliber and attractiveness, then more could be made of the possibility. But possible is still not the same as probable. The introduction of the Republican would-be presidential candidates need not cause panic in the White House. Obama should feel anything but secure; the opposition still needs to dramatically pick up the pace.
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