Government Shutdown a Good Thing? (In the long run)

[The Romulan Republic]

If that's true, it could hardly have happened to a nicer guy.

[KlavoHunter]

And? He'll still retire to a 7-figure-a-year consulting job with one of the various subsidiaries of RegressiveCorp, just like any other of their number who steps up to the plate, win or lose.

[mingo]

Fortunately, if the Tea Party is good at something, it's being unashamed in their extremism. The backlash may return the Democrats the House, but don't count on it to return the incumbent President to office. Unlike the 1996 campaign, the GOP won't be putting up anyone as wooden as Bob "I was dull and boring before Viagra" Dole.

Interesting, the commentary I've seen from the right says "How can we lose the Presidential election? Obama is so bad, anybody can beat him" (precisely what I thought about W in 2004).
The left on the other hand is saying "Nobody running so far is anything but nuts, or Morman with a history of passing Obamacare 1st"

Romney is ALMOST as dull as Dole, the exciting candidates are deeply crazy, but then we're talking about an electorate that voted (?) for W twice.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Fortunately, if the Tea Party is good at something, it's being unashamed in their extremism. The backlash may return the Democrats the House, but don't count on it to return the incumbent President to office. Unlike the 1996 campaign, the GOP won't be putting up anyone as wooden as Bob "I was dull and boring before Viagra" Dole.

Interesting, the commentary I've seen from the right says "How can we lose the Presidential election? Obama is so bad, anybody can beat him" (precisely what I thought about W in 2004).
The left on the other hand is saying "Nobody running so far is anything but nuts, or Morman with a history of passing Obamacare 1st"

Romney is ALMOST as dull as Dole, the exciting candidates are deeply crazy, but then we're talking about an electorate that voted (?) for W twice.

I'll reiterate something I have said before on the topic of the next presidential race which is basically this, the Far Right is simply running out of people that can run nation wide. Oh sure, state by state, they can push through insain nutjobs who will force their backward views on a city or a whole state like Rand Paul and such... But Nationwide? The GOP blew their wad as it were on Shrub... Look at the last line of GOP Presidents.

Reagan got in largely because ALL of America had turned on Carter, Bush the elder got in largerly because he was Reagans VP, and because Dukakis hardly put up a fight. Shrub "won" (cough cough voter fraud) because Al Gore had the charisma of a damp rag, and of course because he was the son of a formal President.

But now? There are no more dynasties, there are no more coat-tails to ride. Every GOP in office today has a list of skeletons that makes him virtually unelectable, and fresh GOP'ers like the Tea Party would never get the support needed by the corrupt power brokers of the GOP to be a serious canidate.

Obama has been a MASSIVE disappointment, but I still see him having a fair chance at re-election largerly because there is no credable threat from the Far Right. I may end up being 100% wrong on this... But unless someone comes totally out of right field and wooos the nation, I cannot give any of the front runners a credable chance of beating Obama.

[Alphawolf55]

Except as previously shown 30% of the Nation is no matter what conservative, if those individuals come out in far bigger droves to vote then the Democratic base does then it doesn't matter if the GOP has less overall support among the nation.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Except as previously shown 30% of the Nation is no matter what conservative, if those individuals come out in far bigger droves to vote then the Democratic base does then it doesn't matter if the GOP has less overall support among the nation.

Indeed. This is why Obama has to start raising money now so he can convince the people who made up his grassroots organization in 2008 not to stay home. And, more likely than not, the outcome of 2012 will hinge on the health of the economy in October of 2012. If we experience a robust recovery, then Obama will have an easier time convincing the Mindless Middle to break his way. If the economy stays in the doldrums, or goes right back to sinking, people in the Mindless Middle will instinctively blame him and go for the other guy. Or stay home.

Either way, he's going to have to convince the Democratic base that putting him in the Oval Office in 2012 would be better than staying home and letting whichever lunatic the rich white assholes who pull the strings behind the Tea Party end up vetting into the White House. Which will be difficult, as he effectively tapped into younger voters for 2008; and he's been going out of his way to polish his cred in the eyes of older, more conservative, voters since then.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Yes that is true, but unless virtually all of middle and progressive America stays home, that 30% can NOT elect a president. And of course that is the big question, how many people you get out to vote because it seems to me as if the Right in the country right now are acting as if all they need is that 30%. In small areas it works, suppress liberal turnout, rig elections via automated vote fraud, put out false mailings, false phone calls, and of course lie lie lie.

But even through all that, and even though a lot of that works in local elections, when it comes to the presidential election it may not be enough any more. Look at Bush again, he ran against someone with the personality of a toaster and BARELY won. During his re-election, which was in the middle of a war, again he had just as slim a victory as before, and yet again he ran against someone whose personality was virtually non existant.

And Bush, compared to the list we have today, was a realtivly sane and "folksy" person, middle America could relate to him. There really arn't people like that in the mix right now. And say what you will about Obama's personal failings, he has a heck of a lot more personality then those before him.

So, at least for the current election, it is looking like the Right has dried up on usuable canidates.