As 2012 nears, Democrats' worries grow

As 2012 nears, Democrats' worries grow

Michael Barbaro, Jeff Zeleny and Monica Davey
New York Times
September 10, 2011

Democrats are expressing growing alarm about President Obama's re-election prospects and, in interviews, are openly acknowledging anxiety about the White House's ability to strengthen his standing over the next 14 months.

Elected officials and party leaders at all levels said their worries have intensified as the economy has displayed new signs of weakness. They said the likelihood of a highly competitive 2012 race is increasing as the GOP field, once dismissed by many Democrats as too inexperienced and conservative to pose a serious threat, has started narrowing to two leading candidates, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who have executive experience and messages built around job creation.

And in a campaign cycle in which Democrats had entertained hopes of reversing losses from last year's midterm elections, some in the party fear that Obama's troubles could reverberate down the ballot.

"In my district, the enthusiasm for him has mostly evaporated," said Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio. "There is tremendous discontent with his direction."

The president's economic address last week offered a measure of solace to discouraged Democrats by employing an assertive, scrappy style that many supporters complain has been absent as he has struggled to rise above gridlock.

Several Democrats suggested that he watch a tape of the jobs speech over and over and use it as a guide until the election.

But a survey of two dozen Democratic officials found a palpable sense of concern. The conversations signaled a change in mood from only a few months ago, when Democrats widely believed that Obama's path to re-election, while challenging, was secure.

"The frustrations are real," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who was the state chairman of Obama's campaign four years ago. "I think we know that there is a Barack Obama that's deep in there, but he's got to synchronize it with passion and principles."

There is little cause for immediate optimism, with polls showing Obama at one of the lowest points of his presidency.

His own economic advisers concede that the unemployment rate, currently 9.1 percent, is unlikely to drop substantially over the next year, creating a daunting obstacle to re-election.

Liberals have grown frustrated by some of his actions, like the decision this month to drop tougher air-quality standards. And polling suggests that the president's yearlong effort to reclaim the political center has so far yielded little additional support from the moderates and independents who tend to decide presidential elections.

"The alarms have already gone off in the Democratic grass roots," said Robert Zimmerman, a member of the Democratic National Committee from New York, who hopes the president's jobs plan can be a turning point. "If the Obama administration hasn't heard them, they should check the wiring of their alarm system."

At a gathering of the Democratic National Committee in Chicago this weekend, some party leaders sounded upbeat after they toured the Obama campaign headquarters. But others expressed anxiety that Obama's accomplishments were not being conveyed loudly enough to ordinary people, that GOP lawmakers were making it impossible for him to get more done, and that Obama's conciliatory approach might be translating to some voters as weakness.

"Now that they're slapping him in the side of the face, he's coming back," said William George, a committee member from Pennsylvania.

the president's yearlong effort to reclaim the political center has so far yielded little additional support from the moderates and independents

Oh, bah ha ha ha!!!! My sides are hurting, I'm laughing so hard!

This president is not moving to the center. This is why he will lose next year. Clinton moved to the center and it worked in his favor. Obama won't move to the center, though he could have the day he was inaugurated.