Mark Whittington
Yahoo News
In a sign that President Obama may find himself retired to Chicago to write his memoirs by this time next year, some press reports suggests that a couple of ordinarily blue states may be in play for the 2012 election.
Stu Rothenberg, writing for Roll Call, suggests that Pennsylvania may be a pickup for Mitt Romney. He reasons that Pennsylvania is vulnerable because the Republicans control the governorship, both houses of the state legislature, the U.S. House delegation and one U.S. Senate seat. A lot of working-class white voters who were part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition may have become alienated from President Obama both culturally and politically. If Rothenberg is on to something, it may be that Obama was right about Pennsylvanians turning on him because they clung to “guns or religion.”
A Marquette Law School poll, which shows Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ahead comfortably in hisrecall election, shows Obama and Romney tied at 46 percent. The state that spawned such liberals asRuss Feingold and William Proxmire is not exactly place that can be considered for a GOP pickup. But because President Obama is doing so poorly, below 50 percent, should be sobering or exciting, depending on one’s political viewpoint.
What does this all entail? While six months lay between us and the November election, the idea that both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin may be in play suggests that President Obama may be facing a wave election that will sweep not only him but a considerable number of Democrats out of office.
The reasons for such a prospect are not hard to understand. The economy remains moribund. President Obama has governed against the wishes of the country, ramming through unpopular measures like health care reform and the nearly $900 billion stimulus package. He tried to shut down NASA’s exploration program, a source of pride for most Americans. Even his same-sex marriage gambit, something that polls about 50/50, has blown up in the president’s face. While a lot of people may support the concept of same-sex marriage, one can also wonder why the president raised the subject with unemployment still north of 8 percent and the national debt at ruinous levels.
Is there anything Obama and his people can do to escape the doom that approaches?
Increasingly, as the clock runs out, the answer looks like it is no.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-wisconsin-turning-against-obama-175200691.html