Republicans look weak in 2012 elections

President Barack Obama has consistently been under fire since his first day in office because of the bitter Republicans who outwardly opposed the president on all political issues.

However, the president may have the last laugh come November 2012 when Americans go back to the polls to potentially re-elect the current leader of the free world.

Moreover, the economy is showing positive indications of growth and Obama’s shift to the center after the 2010 midterm elections are key pillars to a winning foundation.

In a daily presidential tracking poll published on Rasmussenreports.com, Obama had below 50 percent in favorability, but 26 percent of the nation’s voters strongly approve of how the president is performing, though it’s hard for many to strongly approve of what anyone does these days.

Another Rasmussen report also shows that 31 percent of voters give the president good or excellent marks for handling the economy; less than half indicate that he’s doing a poor job.

But despite these early polls, Obama is still the best man for the job and that fact wins overwhelming support everywhere, or at least in places like key swing-states that matter politically.

In all four early primary states (Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina) Obama would beat the Republican nominee if elections were held today, according to polls done by politico.com.

A CNN poll taken just days after the resounding Republican victory in the 2010 midterm elections suggest, and this one’s a game-changer, that both Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney could dethrone the president.

Both Huckabee and Romney continually trend first and second in most national polls of potential 2012 Republican contenders; Palin has trailed third for the most part.

But have we forgotten what happened in 2008? Have we forgotten the most important asset the Obama campaign has: the Obama starpower?

Obama’s popularity among many famous celebrities is the single most important asset of the Obama campaign.

Republicans have this in Sarah Palin, but due to recent trends, her popularity has become less of an asset and more of a liability.

Yet, the Obama starpower is like a cooling star, waiting patiently for its final explosion in 2012.

Another important asset the Obama campaign has, which nearly guarantees his hold on the White House, is the media. The media will play a significant part in who will win in November 2012.

Furthermore, Obama’s got a campaign funding machine and a grassroots network that never went away, leave him posed to take on whatever challenge is brought his way.

Admittedly, Obama has lost many white male voters and several independents tackling the big issues, but the Republican nominee hasn’t exactly won them over either. The GOP nominee and Obama will battle for these votes early in the primaries.

Lastly, with Republicans demonizing Hispanics with an aggressive anti-immigration agenda and as students fight funding deficiencies in financial aid, Obama will be able to keep his base of minorities and students.

Should white female voters also re-join that base, Obama would be in a good position to win by more than his last victory.

African-Americans remain solidly behind Obama, especially after personal attacks on the president’s character by Tea Party aggressors in the 2010 campaign season, which many considered to border on racism.

The Obama starpower will likely be enhanced as the nation’s brightest stars and celebrities endorse and campaign in their own right on behalf of the president, a force the Republican nominee simply will not have access to.

The president has taken a lot of critical hits in the last few years, all of which have served to diminish his starpower.

However, Obama’s political finesse and perpetual open-mindedness to those critiques and allegations have made him admirable.

Obama appears more presidential than any of his possible contenders because of his willingness to stay above the fray while sticking to leading and inspiring the nation by seeking solutions through compromises.

The Republican party has been consistent in obstructing progress using their strategy of saying no. As a result, they continue to be identified as the opposition party of old, white conservatives.

Furthermore, the GOP has been consistent in its approach to target white voters only, while making lackluster efforts in any other demographic area, which has contributed to its limited abilities.

However, it has nearly perfected many of its most effective strategies as seen in the 2010 midterm elections.

Yet, to those who would cite the midterms in 2010 as indications of Obama’s troubled waters, remember the electoral map of 2008, the speeches and the man.

Obama is simply more identifiable and relatable than any of the current potential Republican contenders.

The power of money can’t be forgotten, either.

Obama can raise money from a vast network, and has a political team that is unrivaled.

Demographic shifts are in the president’s favor, and if the economic conditions keep improving, the economy will become less of an effective platform for any opposition candidate.

Healthcare may be an issue, but the president strategically tucked it away in 2014, the year the mandate will potentially go into effect.

Obama will tout a resurging economy, a de-escalation in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and unveil an agenda for the future that will remind Americans why they elected him in the first place: a hope for change.

How will the Republicans and their conservative philosophy contend with this? They may not be able to. Thus, they may have to be satisfied with applying their philosophies in the House, while setting up for possibilities in 2016.