I don't see anyone whose fit to challenge him, aside from Romney. So yeah, this will be a landslide victory for Obama.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Obama is going to win a second term. I actually think Newt Gingrich is the only person who could truly challenge him, because whether you like him or not, he's ambitious and he's quick-witted in debates. I'd love to see an Obama-Gingrich debate. Romney won't beat him because Romney essentially IS Obama, minus all of the qualities that are best about Obama. Romney is the Obama that doesn't want gay people to get married. The fringe moderates would probably figure they should stick with Obama in that situation. Santorum won't beat him because he's way too extreme. At least I hope a majority of America's voters would figure that one out. And of course, as much as I love him, Ron Paul is pretty much playing spoiler in the GOP race at this point. He's not going to be nominated, which is a shame. I really like Paul and Obama, both for very different reasons. God forbid there were two good candidates in an election.
I don't know why Ron Paul is still trying. He's too fail to be big Sorry, but libertarian radicalism isn't working that well. And you know Americans are indeed mostly socialists. If Obama is one, so all of the persons who elected him are socialists either. No space for the repressed beliefs in marktes and freedom in the US and A. Sad but true :/ I see it coming, another four years of a new wave of american socialism. Sorry, if someone feels offended. PS: I like the US and A.
This country could use a little socialism. This dogmatic view that capitolism is the only way is bullshit. You bend or you break. Right now we're breaking. Believe me, if Obama was a real socialist he would have my full and unquestioned vote. But he's not and he doesn't. I'll probably go Paul if I get the chance.
@shinformant: Read between the lines. I was mocking this view/ figure of argumentation i set out above.
Socialism causes poverty. The US has many socialistic policies that simply won't allow our economy to heal (obamacare, bailouts, welfare, etc). Capitalism is grossly misunderstood and is the only way for a nation to prosper long-term. And you're right, libertarianism/anarchism has been failing, with a few exceptions, basically ever since humans have become civilized. It started out with rulers/kings/emperors, and has manifested into governments. There's too many people (almost everyone) that think it's ok to tell other people how to live their lives, and have the government enforce their beliefs through legislation/force. Limited government/no government won't really ever catch on until governments start collapsing economies or infringing on individual freedoms already more than they are currently. We're already seeing a lot of uproar over this kind of stuff, but people are still crying for more government and more regulation as the answer, which, unfortunately, is the reason for our problems, not the solution.
hm well man, that's just like...your opinion, dude! I will respond to that later. Now i really have to work a little bit^^
I really think if the economy does not pick up, Obama has a fair chance of losing the race. Most presidents in US history who come into an economic problem and are seen as unable to fix it do, no matter how popular they were at a given point. The president has almost no *real* control over the US economy, yet due to years of campaign promises and the fact that he is the figurehead of the country/head of state, he gets the blame from the voters.
Their policies seriously affect the economy. Some stuff isn't directly under their control, but some major issues are. But people will be looking for Romney to turn things around, you're right. Unfortunately he'll bring more of the same, just like Obama did after the Bush era. The president is just a puppet to the elite powers in the US.
Ah, so we have an elite theorist here! I tend to agree with you on that point. Many people, I think, fail to see that Obama's economic policies simply followed the course set by Bush when the financial crisis first occurred. Republicans like to wag their fingers at Obama as bailing people out, yet Bush did the same. But of course, to a lot of people, that is an uncomfortable fact.
Democrats and Republicans just like blaming each other when they are pretty much doing identical things and are both the problem. And the "elite theory" doesn't take much digging to uncover the truth. Politicians in general, along with the president, are bought and sold. The rich and powerful buy legislation in order to control the market. For example, this is why the bailouts happened. This is why small businesses have no chance against corporations. This is why we're spending so much on military nonsense. This is how PIPA and SOPA came about. This is why our prisons are filled to the brim. Those are just a few of many, many things that the elite pay to make happen. Through forced taxation, government and the elite work together to make money off of us.
The problem with the campaign promises is that the president can hardly control the things they promise due to the nature of the government's structure in the United States. It was built specifically to safeguard against radical changes, whether for good or for ill. That being said, no candidate can go out there and say "Hey, look, I'll try my best to propose legislation to do this or that and maybe Congress will buy it." That doesn't win over voters, they want a candidate who won't "give up" before they try anything. It's Psychology 101. Realism has no place in presidential elections. If Obama ran instead on a weaker image of "we'll try our best" rather than "Hope and Change," he gets less votes in my opinion. However, on a lot of issues, the president really has no direct power over legislation unless his party controls both houses of Congress. And with the political polarization between party elites, there is no compromise. The American people are far more compromising in nature, and are far less black and white on most issues, especially social issues. I know a lot of people who are those so-called extinct "liberal Republicans" who are for limited government and are socially liberal, yet there are virtually none of these people represented in the US Congress. Our government has become steadily less representative over the last say 15-20 years.
If you're socially conservative and you push those views you can't seriously claim that you're for "small government", and yet plenty of people do. Ideology-wise those are my least favourite politicians.
Seriously, that's the biggest problem I have with the Republicans who hold office at the federal level. It's a mixed message, and a lot of the base voters are too ignorant to realize that if the government wants to control "ethics and morality," there has to be more enforcement of such laws. And more enforcement always equals more money.