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A friend -- you may remember Eric Marburger from when I wrote about him last October -- asked yesterday, during a croquet game, whether I was planning to watch the Republican presidential campaign debate last night.
I wasn't, and this morning, reading about the debate I realized why. It doesn't matter. Look at the potential nominees and it becomes clear not one of them will have a ghost's chance in hell of beating President Barack Obama.
Unless, perhaps, the nominee is U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who announced her official candidacy at the debate.
If Republicans nominate her, the country might entertain the idea of electing the first woman president, but then a majority of voters would also reconsider her Tea Party affiliations and vote for the incumbent as the lesser of two evils.
It seems every presidential election comes down to that kind of decision in modern America.
Besides that, by November of 2012, Obama will have proven himself a president who acts in the best interests of all Americans, not leaving out even those who oppose him.
One element of the debate last night proves my contention. I'm depending on New York Times coverage published in the Denver Post when I quote former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who said during the debate: "What you're doing will not work. It's a huge power grab by the federal government."
That's nonsense and Romney knows it. He was talking about Obama's health-care legislation and even conservative-minded Tea Partyers will realize the benefits universal health-care coverage will provide them by the time the election rolls around. By then, too, all Republican opposition to the plan will be seen for the lie that it is.
Affordable health care for all the people of the United States will be just as laudable a goal in November of 2012 as it was during November of 2008 and all through 2009 and 2010 when the Congress debated the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Obama signed it.
Calling it "Obamneycare" will just remind people that the president, like Mitt Romney when he signed similar legislation in Massachusetts, was thinking of all the people in America, not just the rich and not just the poor, but all the people who make up the great middle class.
We need universal health care in America; the president's plan protected the private insurance industry and offered health-insurance availability to 30 million uninsured Americans. It was a compromise position, but he got it enacted into law, and a grateful electorate will reward him with a second four-year term.
Even the idea of a woman president won't overcome that perception when we go the polls in 2012.
Now, about Weiner. New York Rep. Anthony Weiner made all kinds of headlines except one over the past few weeks. Another friend, I won't say who, suggested I write this headline for a blog post I might write about Weiner: "It really was Weiner's wiener!"
I hope my other readers appreciate my discretion in containing the headline to a single paragraph here.
Follow Robert Schwab on Twitter: www.twitter.com/schwabpoet
Bonnie Fuller: The Real Reason Anthony Weiner Cheated On His Wife, Huma Abedin!
owillis
of course mitt romney won't sign a pro-life pledge. its called keeping your options open. (mitt runs as dem in 2016, think bout it :)
9 hours ago from web
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dailydish
The Big Lie: Obama's Policies Have Made the Recession Worse: It's part of Mitt Romney's talking points. And when... http://bit.ly/mEb6hU
10 hours ago from twitterfeed
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MBShatz
I wouldn't be surprised if Rick Perry replaces Mitt Romney as the Republican front-runner #p2
10 hours ago from TweetDeck
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SFGate
Mitt Romney leads California GOP poll http://sfg.ly/lDmMoz
12 hours ago from CoTweet
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bigthink
Mitt Romney's Economic Nonsense http://bit.ly/k4gfKB
12 hours ago from Twuffer
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BostonUpdate Political Intelligence blog: Mitt Romney adds chapter to his abortion rights history - http://bo.st/jTmqJS | ||
businessinsider
Lawrence O'Donnell: Mitt Romney Has No Idea What It Means To Lose Your Job http://read.bi/lhdNl8
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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thedailybeast
How Mitt Romney is like Ronald Reagan--Most Notably on Foreign Policy http://thebea.st/kGX4si by @PeterBeinart
13 hours ago from CoTweet
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9newsdotcom
Mitt Romney visits Aurora Monday http://bit.ly/li1UJZ #9NEWS
14 hours ago from twitterfeed
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BostonUpdate Political Intelligence blog: Mitt Romney adds chapter to his abortion rights history - http://bo.st/jTmqJS | ||
TomBevanRCP
Mitt Romney fares well in California Field Poll http://bit.ly/jRIGqb
16 hours ago from bitly
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Non-partis
I hear Obama faked his birth certificat