Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Race and Civil Rights, Health Care Debate
With the president's approval rating inching higher, after his well-crafted call for this nation to end the dangerous and hurtful political rhetoric, the president is positioning to become only the second Democrat since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to be elected to second term. Former President Bill Clinton was the first.
To prepare for the effort, the president will close his political affairs office at the White House and open up shop outside of Chicago with several White House staffers shifting back in to campaign mode. The moves will allow him to raise money and avoid controversy.
The New York Times writes:
The personnel moves, which were confirmed in interviews this week, represent the latest step in a major reorganization of the Obama administration. The accelerated pace of the re-election bid, particularly with no sign of any Democratic primary opponent, highlights the challenges facing Mr. Obama as he can no longer present himself as a Washington outsider. The headquarters in Chicago is intended to help connect him with Americans across the country at a time when he is also fighting Republican efforts to portray him as too liberal for the electorate.
The Times also notes that neither Presidents George W. Bush or Clinton closed their political affairs office but that Obama is doing so to "reduce the likelihood that it will become a target of an investigation by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee."
That is a clear signal that this will be an ugly campaign for a few reasons.
Obama and his aides are going to have to work around a Republican-controlled House who are looking to throw any obstacle they can in the president's path to re-election.
Overblown investigations into nonsense allegations of wrongdoing can cost the president and the Democratic National Committee valuable time and money. Every moment the president spends warding off some possible bogus investigation will take away from his campaign to show the ways in which he has improved the country.
In addition, Republicans seem to not have learned any lessons from the assassination attempt against Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Just a few weeks after the awful attack against Giffords, Republicans returned to the same overheated, hateful arguments in an effort to repeal the health care reform law.
Republicans on the House floor could be heard talking about how the country is moving toward socialism and how the government is reaching its hands in to the lives of everyday citizens. That is the type of overhyped rhetoric that can stir the mental illness of the next crazed person with a gun who wants to make a name for himself.
Finally, the novelty of working to elect the first black president is gone. All of the people that signed on to support Obama, because they were excited to help make a major first occur in this country may not be as excited this time.
Nevertheless, President Obama has the accomplishments so far to make a strong case for his re-election. Despite the Republican rhetoric, millions of Americans are already benefiting from health care reform, according to those in the health field.
President Obama inherited a country on the verge of economic collapse and has pushed it back from the brink in a slow, uphill battle.
And as Obama demonstrated with his Arizona speech, he still has the ability to rally the country at any time with his amazing oratory skills. These days, we need more inspiration and less division based off of untruthful, illogical rhetoric.