Democrats express doubts over Obama re-election, hope Hillary will step in|US News
Washington: Democrats are beginning to ask if incumbent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would have made a better president than Barack Obama, and now are expressing serious doubts about the latter’s ability to win re-election next year.
Obama's capitulation to Republicans in the recent tussle over deficit reduction is being seen as the lowest point of his presidency and the latest in a series of blows to the liberal agenda, the Telegraph reports.
Faced with the staunch opposition of the Tea Party contingent of the Republican Party, he agreed to widespread cuts in government spending without winning any revenue increases in exchange.
Finding it hard to defend his often listless and repetitive performances, Democratic strategists and commentators are privately agreeing with Republicans and comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter, another Democrat who remains the post-war benchmark for a failed president.
"He is a do-gooder at heart. He thinks everyone has the same agenda to do the right thing, but other people don''t have the same agenda. Their agenda is to score points and get their party re-elected," said Morris Reid, a Washington consultant and former Clinton official.
He added: "This is the downside of him not being terribly political like Bill Clinton was. Bill Clinton woke up every day relishing this kind of fight, and Hillary is just a tougher person. The Clintons are much more combative, they are always ready to go to Defcon 1 (''war is imminent'' state)."
Reid, however, described Obama as a formidable campaigner and fund-raiser and should not be ruled out of the fight in 2012.
But he said some Democrats were feeling "buyer''s remorse" for selecting the president in his epic battle with Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination.
Gary Pearce, a Democratic strategist in North Carolina, said: "Democrats are worried. He looks weak, he doesn't say anything that grabs you, and people are looking for some kind of magic."
"You see a yearning for a Bill Clinton-type approach and Hillary would reflect that. Obama is just a different political animal, he is a low-key guy," he added.
Obama''s approval rating has fallen dramatically since the killing of Osama bin Laden in early May, and he has failed to outline a vision for how he will improve chronic unemployment and a housing market in which one if five mortgage holders are in negative equity.
A 2012 primary challenge by Clinton is currently regarded as unlikely, but growing number of party activists and old hands are hoping that she changes her mind.
Sources: ANI
Image Source: Reuters
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