How will the second Obama term be different from the first?

[kentuck]

If the Republicans maintain control of Congress, is there anything he can do differently? Should we simply brace ourselves for more of the same? Will he continue to try and compromise with the insane part of the Republican Party? What can we realistically expect to happen in the next four years of the second Obama Administration?

Will he shake up his Cabinet? Should he? How long before the troops are out of Afghanistan? Will we slide back into a double-dip recession or will we begin to recover? Will government programs continue to be cut? Will the huge deficits begin to subside? Will not much of it depend on how Congress continues to govern?

What if the Democrats take back the House and maintain control of the Senate? Will that make a difference or will the Repubs continue to throw monkeywrenches into the workings of government? Will the Senate finally change the 60-votes rule for continued debate but keep the filibuster at 66 votes? What changes would you anticipate in a second Obama Administration?

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Little room for improvement.

Maybe he could use more dye on the gray parts of his hair? Or make Lloyd Blankfein Secretary of Everything?

Sincerely,

Practical Manny

[kentuck]

5. Manny...

that is not very encouraging...

[unblock]

2. 4 more years of gridlock, pretty much no matter what.

i think the most probably outcome is obama wins, republicans hold the house, and democrats hold the senate.

in terms of legislation, it doesn't much matter if republicans win the senate because obama will veto anything overly odious and likely stick to doing "executive branch" stuff. mostly it only changes the way in which republicans can score points. instead of being annoying by blocking legislation, they can be annoying by passing legislation that won't be signed into law. either way, not much gets passed into law aside from what's actually necessary.

whatever unlikely circumstances cause obama to lose the white house probably cause republicans to win the senate as well as keep the house, and then we're into at least two years of ridiculous and disastrous laws that will make us long for the days of the comparitively innocuous republican presidents like shrub or hoover.

[pinto]

11. Yeah, agree for the most part. One thing we may be overlooking - public response.

Folks are really frustrated at the gridlock and the petty procedural moves in Congress.

[calimary]

3. The emphasis will shift to the legacy he leaves behind.

Hopefully the calcium supplement he's received lately, for backbone reinforcement, will motivate him and his troops to push further with the positive things he was able to do during this term. Maybe building upon and reinforcing the health care reforms (which could use a LOT of tweaking)? Weaning us away from Afghanistan? Replacing eric holder (one of the most useless, unimpressive Attorneys General I've seen in a long time)? Replace tim geithner hopefully?

I'm hoping that the backbone he's started showing recently will remind him what REALLY works with the voters - and works AGAINST the bad guys - who I hope lose the House and don't even come close to taking the Senate. It would be lovely to see boner relegated to a mere two-year term as Speaker. He gets one shot, serves with extreme INdistinction, and buh-bye. I hate to see bad behavior rewarded. Which is why I hope the GOP gets its collective ass handed to it next November. They need to be shown that sidling up to jackasses like the teabaggers is NO way to win, longterm, and only alienates sensible, reasonable people with consciences and intelligence. A teachable moment for them. They certainly deserve it!

[russspeakeasy]

22. I'm concerned that the supplement you refer to, is just a placebo.

Four more years of professional wrestling.

[calimary]

28. Yeah, I know what you mean. The track-record here isn't the best.

I am HOPING that he stays strong and stands up to these bastards. Otherwise it just fuels the fire of that old question: "Shit, there's no difference between the political parties. They're All The Same. Doesn't make any difference who you vote for, they're all alike, they're all the same, they're all wholly-owned subsidiaries. That's why he has to start stepping away from that "how much can I compromise" crap. And STAND HIS GROUND. And I guess we have to just keep staying in there and keep nagging and reminding.

[boxman15]

4. If there's a Republican Congress, not much will be different.

There's not much he can do. Unless the GOP miraculously moves back toward the center, nothing will get done. He might be more vocal in his criticisms of the GOP and Wall Street since he doesn't have to worry about re-election, but that would be about it. This may or may not lead to a double-dip recession depending on what happens in Europe, but the economy would still be stagnant thanks to Republican idiocy. That second dip could potentially be worse since Republicans wouldn't agree to any stimulus at all.

If he gets a liberal, Democratic House and an as liberal as possible filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, things will be much better. We'd be able to get people back to work and work to reduce the deficit the common sense way, by raising taxes on the rich and cutting wasteful spending (not entitlements or programs people depend on). Democrats may change filibuster rules then, but it's a tool they'd probably like to use when Republicans are in control, so who knows?

Regardless of Congress, I think he might want to speed up the Afghanistan withdrawal,but I think he relies heavily on his military advisors, so I don't think we'd get out much sooner than 2014. He may shake up his Cabinet a little bit depending on if anyone decides to leave, but he seems content with them now, so I don't think things will be much different on that front.

We NEED a liberal Congress. It doesn't matter if Obama is re-elected (except for the Supreme Court) if Congress is fringe conservative. The economy will still be largely stagnant.

[MineralMan]

6. That will depend, almost entirely, on what kind of

Congress we elect in 2012.

[libodem]

7. My Man

Will kick some ass and take names! That's right, Cantor, weaselfucker.

[TheKentuckian]

8. The common citizen will have less wealth, fewer rights, less security, and the President will be

even less accountable than he is now.

Republicans, no longer having the ability to beat the President will be considerably freer to support their own garbage policy that Obama keeps pulling out of the bin which means the "chess" game can be fully turned on the people in the name of bipartisan consensus.

[pinto]

9. Recent trend suggests a more "bully pulpit" approach, publically. And much depends on Congress.

A lot of the possibilities you mention are primarily in the hands of Congress.

Obama has recently taken the tack of calling out Congress on the procedural gridlock in place. Seems to have had some effect, especially as the Repubs paint themselves into an obstructionist corner. Admin nominations are a glaring example.

Changes in the Democratic voice in Congress may come about with House and Senate elections...


Generally, I think it will continue to be a political slog to move ahead. Incrementals seems to be the markers, not broad, sweeping change.

I think some Cabinet changes are a good possibility. Fairly common, iirc, in a 2nd term.

[WingDinger]

10. We are all screwed, BUT, Obama will have political capital to spend, and

by the time campaigns wrap up, the american people will hammer on rethugs to get going, get the fuck outta the way, or STFU.

The tea party congress has shown itself totally inept. Naive, bereft of interest in doing the job, and not even sure what the job is.

[pinto]

12. "bereft of interest in doing the job and not even sure what the job is"

So true...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Unless there is a major turnover in both houses, it will be a defensive fight for his legacy

Without major changes on the Hill, the best we can hope for is a staunch defense of the gains made so far.

The healthcare reform package will probably lose some features in the courts and the Congress refusing to fund parts of it. It also needs to be tweaked somewhat. If we get to keep that, I would be satisfied (but not happy).

The wildcard as usual is SCOTUS and the health of its members. The other positive legacy he could leave would be a couple more liberal and younger judges.

[southernyankeebelle]

14. If he makes it and I am sure praying he does then I hope we can maintain the senate at least.

Wining back the house would be great but I don't know.

[shraby]

15. Well then, get yer a$$ out there and get him a majority in both houses..

not just a majority, but a super majority.

[kentuck]

17. When asking for miracles...

...don't ask for too much. In order to turn water to wine, there must be some water...

[surfdog]

18. Filibuster reform...

Is what I'm thinking.

If the house numbers get pretty close look for filibuster reform to be pushed in the Senate.

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. Filibuster reform has naught to do with who's in the White House.

It only takes 51 Senators to change the Senate Rules. We've got that. We'll keep that. Harry Reid doesn't have the guts or fortitude to do what's right in that regard.

[lsewpershad]

19. Come on Guys

Lets give him a progressive Pelosi congress and a 60 [progressive] senate and them see wht happens. And by the way never let up on the peoples' pressure.

[barbtries]

20. the republicans will lose congress.

the jobs bill will pass, the economy will get a whole lot better, and the people who currently vote against their own best interests will see the light and reregister as democrats.
i like to dream.

[AtomicKitten]

21. It depends entirely on the makeup of the Congress he has at the time.

[paulk]

23. I don't see much of a change, regardless of who wins Congress

Obama believes in the status quo. You only have to look at his cabinet appts when the Dems had the biggest majorities in years. He believes that our system can fix itself, that it only needs tweaking to get things working again. He has time and again misjudged the severity of the crisis and misjudged how dysfunctional our government, as a whole, has become.

Personally, I think Obama's first term has been a disaster, and I don't expect his second term to be much of an improvement. The only thing worse would have been a Republican President. We're still heading for the edge of the cliff, Obama's only saving grace so far is that the pedal isn't pushed all the way to the floor.

[Owlet]

24. It depends entirely on events

ostensibly outside of his or anyone else's control.

[Edweird]

25. He won't have to worry about being 'the lesser of two evils' anymore.

[Cursive]

31. He doesn't worry about that now.

He's not evil.

[Lil Missy]

26. He won't have to be nice to ratfuckers anymore. n/t

[Mudoria]

27. I've got this feeling 2012 is going to be a turn around year

In 2010 people voted in Repugs in response to the economy. Polls show Congress at it's lowest level of popularity ever these days. My feeling is these Repugs get swept out of office and the President has Dem control again. Of course that doesn't mean a Dem Congress will get jackshit done (like 2008-2010) but it's the President's chance to do what he really wants to do since re-election is no longer a factor.

[Charlemagne]

30. I hope he has a fight with a robot

One that is built similar to a person. What is that called when robots are built like people? Its not a cyborg. I cant remember.

But seriously though, lame duck presidents always have a hard time. Always. I cant see this going well if fox news can get their people to the polls. I dont know if they will do the impeachment thing, I think the country is fed up with that crap. But certainly, those smug hypocritical conservatives will make the first term seem easy in comparison.