Axelrod Outlines The 2012 Map: Where We Competed In '08, 'We're Competitive Again'

[babylonsister]

Axelrod Outlines The 2012 Map: Where We Competed In '08, 'We're Competitive Again'
First Posted: 02/ 1/11 06:27 PM Updated: 02/ 1/11 06:27 PM


WASHINGTON -- Even before the Obama administration announced that the next Democratic National Convention would be held in Charlotte, N.C., the president's top aides were plotting a 2012 electoral landscape that would mirror the one Obama traversed in 2008 in terms of its ambition.

In an interview on Monday, senior adviser David Axelrod underscored just how expansive the president's expectations are heading into the election season, highlighting North Carolina, specifically, as a battleground.

"{T}he mistake we make in this town is often to sit on the back of the truck and look at what just happened and extrapolate from it and assume that the next election is going to be just like the last one," said Axelrod, just hours away from leaving the White House after two years of service. "2012 is not going to be 2010. The president is going to be on the ballot. The electorate is going to be a much larger electorate. And if you look at the polling from around the country -- there was just one public poll from North Carolina last week -- it's very clear that in virtually all the states where we were competitive last time, we're competitive again. Now, we can be more or less competitive, but we're certainly going to compete on a large field."

Less than 12 hours later, the Democratic National Committee sent out an email, under first lady Michelle Obama's name, announcing Charlotte as the convention site.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/01/axelrod-elections-2012_n_817205.html

[pnwmom]

1. I hope his crystal ball is working.

I think it is, I think it is, I think it is

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. crystal clear!

[KoKo]

2. Tim Kaine is still DNC Chair..and Dem Convention being held in a "Right to Work State, " (anti-union

that is home to Bank America!

What a great pick that was. Tim Kaine thinks the SC Palinites, Haley's and Joe Wilson and the rest of the Crazy's aren't going to hold their OWN "Tea Party" Counter Convention with Sarah Palin as their Spokesperson?

What were Axelrod and Kaine thinking with this pick!

Doing our Dem Convention on the NC/SC Border is going to make this Convention a MESS! It might end up like Chicago in 1968!

[Hippo_Tron]

11. You do realize that the vast majority of people who live in Charlotte are not bankers

And that there are a lot of people in North Carolina who are pro labor. I don't see how this is going to make the convention a "mess" by any stretch of the imagination.

[Beacool]

3. 2012 will not be 2008.

People were sick to death of Bush, the Republicans and the war in Iraq. The economic collapse that occurred in September 2007 was the last drop. Obama is no longer an unknown commodity. If the economy (and by that I mean the unemployment rate) does not improve, then it won't be the walk in the park that Axelrod seems to think that it will be. Another important deciding factor will be who the Republicans choose as their nominee.

:shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

5. Are people "sick to death of Obama, the Dems and the war in Afghanistan."

nope. About 20 people here are, but they're in the minority.

I see LOTS of articles written entitled, "_____ can win the GOP nomination."

I have yet to see any written describing how "______ can beat Obama."

[babylonsister]

6. + + +.

See, I'm a gal of few words. :rofl:

[Clio the Leo]

9. oh those are nice, creative use of the ++++

;)

[Beacool]

7. I think that if this economy doesn't improve, Jesus himself could be on the ballot

and it wouldn't make a difference. People are fickle, they gave the Democrats a shellacking in November and yet Obama's polls went up within 2 months. Who knows how they'll feel by November 2012?

:shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

8. "2012 is not going to be 2010. The president is going to be on the ballot."

.... is the whole point. Now, I dont mean to say the economy could still be stagnant and he'd be ok, but anyone would be a fool to underestimate this man or his supporters. Every African American I know would take to the streets if anyone dare lay a FINGER on him (and I'd be right out there with them.) To those who were in high school in '08 but who WILL be able to vote in '12, the man is flipping rock star. .... those are two factors he can claim that NO ONE in our lifetimes has been able to.

Add to that the fact that he's smarter than just about anyone he shares a room with. You put him on stage next to ANYONE the GOP has to offer and his intelligence and calm demeanor will win every time.

The election is his to lose and we all know it.

It's no wonder the other party isn't any rush to announce their candidates. I wouldn't want to run against him either.

Living in the south, I have these day dreams where he tops Reagan's landslide and wins ALL 50 states (lol because Palin wins the GOP nomination and even Alaska wont vote for her.) I realize that's stupid. It will NOT happen. I have common sense.

..... but the announcement that convention will be in Charlotte is helping me lose my rational perspective again. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/7096">Listen to the mustn'ts, child :)

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. Improving poll numbers, particularly after a "shellacking"

is a good sign, is it not? Plus, the Tea Party is just getting started...............

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

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[Autumn]

16. I don't see it being a walk in the park either.

Obama is a very known commodity now. A lot of Democrats and Independents in real life are not happy.

[Beacool]

18. Yep, that he is.

:hi:

[Clio the Leo]

4. "2012 is not going to be 2010. The president is going to be on the ballot."

.... glad to hear the man who knows more about this thing than the pundits to repeating the very thing I've been thinking for months.

[robinlynne]

12. um. Thank Dr Dean.

[Hawkowl]

14. He needs a drug test

Axlerod is either smack talking or doing smack. All I hear is that this level of unemployment is the new "normal". No fucking way Obama gets re-elected with 8% unemployment. Some Rethuglican hack will hang that around his neck like a burning tire. "Are you better off now, than you were 4 years ago?" That will be the cudgel that bashes Obama's re-election chances all to hell. He will have deserved it for his policy decisions. Timidity in the face of corruption and wealth, instead of the bold change he promised.

[quaker bill]

17. My crystal ball says

President Obama will win by a larger margin than 2008. This time 8+ percent. It will not even be close.

Over the next two years, either the Republican house starts selling out the TEA party and passes something the Senate will vote for and the President will sign, or they will prove how useless they are as a party. Neither option will work well for them. Top that off with a new crop of repug governors slashing state worker pay and benefits, closing schools, cutting benefits....

Obama will win easy and have considerable coat-tails.