2012 Presidential Election

Who do you think will run in the next election? Who do you think will win?

Personally, I believe Sarah Palin might run from the Republican Party, along with some of the other GOP candidates (Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, etc.) Donald Trump has also expressed interest in running. Michael Bloomberg has also been rumored to run.

I believe as of right now, President Obama would win. MSNBC has shown poll results that show Obama winning against all potential GOP candidates. But Obama's approval rating has been slipping recently, so it's possible this may change. This is why I would like to see someone from his own party run against him as well.

So, what do you think will happen in the 2012 election?

Btw, GOP = Republican.

Um, Jesus? /bartsimpsonanswer

Honestly, it's pointless me even trying to figure American politics out properly. All I know is the world would be doomed if America elects Mrs "I can see Russia from my house" into power =/ Every interview I've seen of Sarah Palins has left me wondering how the hell she even managed to get to be the Governer of Alaska. She seems to be a few beers short of a dozen.

Sarah Palin will never be President. She's completely stupid. She never gives any REAL suggestions as to what we should do for the country (as all of the Tea Party is, just rhetoric.) I haven't heard her propose any real solutions since she parroted the old man's agenda in '08. Btw, she resigned as Governor. She didn't even complete her term.

I really don't know how the climate is for politics in America. All I've really heard is that people were expecting Obama to pull a magic cure out of his rear & fix the economy & now people are hating on him because he couldn't do it. That's basically all I've been hearing ;_;

But in saying that, BRING BACK BILL CLINTON!

I agree with that 112 percent. Bill Clinton was one of the best presidents of the modern era.

Basically the political climate in America is one where the Democrats try to do things & the Republicans block it all. Our political system needs a triple bypass.

Tim Pawlenty is also a possible candidate, and a very good one. Judging by the overwhelming Republican gains in the house and senate this past November, I would guess that a Republican candidate would beat Obama.

The GOP wouldn't let Palin run for President in '12, since she is so polarizing and will undoubtedly turn moderate and liberal Republicans away. The only way either side ever wins is by winning over the moderate independents, who make up the majority of America, and Palin has already established herself as being pretty far from the center. Having said that, I don't really know who the Republicans should put up to run.

I agree. Even though I personally think that Palin would make a good president, I do not think that she can win the popular vote.
That is why I think that someone like Tim Pawlenty could turn out to be a GOP frontrunner.

coachcline said:

Who do you think will run in the next election? Who do you think will win?

Personally, I believe Sarah Palin might run from the Republican Party, along with some of the other GOP candidates (Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, etc.) Donald Trump has also expressed interest in running. Michael Bloomberg has also been rumored to run.

I believe as of right now, President Obama would win. MSNBC has shown poll results that show Obama winning against all potential GOP candidates. But Obama's approval rating has been slipping recently, so it's possible this may change. This is why I would like to see someone from his own party run against him as well.

So, what do you think will happen in the 2012 election?

Btw, GOP = Republican.

I know this is going back a bit but I've seen that about 52 of people have said they're voting for him again. Why? I mean really what has he done that's so great. About the Donald Trump wanting to run I've heard about this too. Everyone I've talked to said if he runs they'd vote for him. He knows how to make a dollar and run a business and that's what we need right now. We keep going further in debt and I think he could get us out of this hole we're in now.

Haha, Donald Trump has been bankrupted twice. He'd be no different than anyone else.

I would say Chris Christie would have a viable chance of beating Obama, but given his progress in New Jersey thus far it might be too risky. The Democrats will eat him alive for his 'assault' on teachers that really isn't....

The party of the President always loses seats in the following election, so that's not a big factor. I think Obama beats anyone they put in front of him by virtue of the GOP going way too conservative for their own good.

Too conservative for their own good? I actually believe that it was their transition away from their platform that led to their slipping from power in the last few elections. Their landslide gains in 2010 were due in my opinion to their return to that platform.

YoSoyJu said:

The party of the President always loses seats in the following election, so that's not a big factor. I think Obama beats anyone they put in front of him by virtue of the GOP going way too conservative for their own good.

The Republicans didn't lose either House in the election following George W Bush's first election.

Nor do I believe that they won seats back simply because the Republicans became more conservative — in fact, aside from the few Tea Party candidates that got in, they haven't — it was simply because everyone saw after four years that the Democrats couldn't do a better job.

That is possibly the reason. I would have to say that the democrat's poor handling of the economy did no doubt contribute to their losses.

Patriot X said:

That is possibly the reason. I would have to say that the democrat's poor handling of the economy did no doubt contribute to their losses.

And Bush did better? Obama hasn't done anything to get such criticism and hasnt done anything to deserve much praise. If he were not Black and he was not democrat in this current time (Meaning if the economy weren't so bad)then he`d be a very forgettable President. Its simply unfortunate that he ended up with such responsibility becoming president, and its simply unfortunate people expected him to solve the worlds problems with a flick of his magic wand.

Not quite accurate there. He did pass a huge healthcare package, and 2 stimulus packages, piling a huge debt on the United States. Other than throwing that debt at us... yeah he has been pretty forgettable.

Patriot X said:

Not quite accurate there. He did pass a huge healthcare package, and 2 stimulus packages, piling a huge debt on the United States. Other than throwing that debt at us... yeah he has been pretty forgettable.

Nice revisionist history there, X. Bush actually passed the first stimulus package.

Only 3 presidential parties haven't lost seats after they won the presidency. I never said one loses the House or Senate, just seats.

Also, if you look at the most "viable" GOP candidates for '12, they are very conservative. Running on their merits and positions alone, they would get trounced. The only chance the Republican party has is for the economy to get worse and to blame it on Obama.

Nice revisionist history there, X. Bush actually passed the first stimulus package.

I apologize. You are correct. Obama only passed a single stimulus bill (787 billion dollars)
Bush signed one in before he was removed from power in 2008.(152 billion dollars)

To the credit of my argument however, his stimulus bill was roughly 5 times larger than Bush's
Of course.. that being said, Congress did authorize the spending of 700 billion dollars to "bailout" the economy under in 2008.

The GOP will end up fracturing or even splitting completely in two by 2012 if the more moderate Republicans can't come together with the Tea Partiers. Neither the regular GOP or the Tea Party would have enough votes to stop Obama. But if they worked together they could very well beat him; or at least give him a serious run for his money.

But I don't think there is much chance of the regular & Tea Party wings of the GOP coming together. The moderate Republicans would lose their base & a lot of Independents if they shifted too far right & the Tea Party would lose the far right vote if they shift too far toward the middle. The only kind of candidate that could potentially unite the GOP would be one that's very far right on cultural issues & more toward the middle on the economy. Even then they'd run the risk of not satisfying everybody. And usually those two characteristics don't go together for some reason.

Honestly, I believe by then we could very well have a three-way race between Obama, the GOP, and the Tea Party which would become its own separate party by then. If that happens, then anybody that could possibly run against Obama would be impotent. Unless there's some kind of x-factor involved by then. We could also have an Independent candidate that could serve as a threat.

The political system is very fractured right now, so I wouldn't even throw out the possibility of a four-way race at this time. It would be Obama, the GOP, Tea Party, and an Independent candidate (Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, etc.) That could potentially split the vote perilously close to a tie.

And the idea of another Democrat running against Obama has been kicked around as well, so that could also be a possibility. Then there could be a five-way or even higher race. Although this seems unlikely right now, you never know what may happen between now & then. For all we know we could see a far left party emerge to counter the other three parties.

Basically, what I'm saying here is that there could be a very fractured race in 2012, split between three, four, or possibly even five or more candidates.

And honestly, I keep seeing a four party system in the near future of American politics. The Tea Party, GOP, Democrats, and then a far left party that would rise out of frustration with the Democrats much the same way the Tea Party came about. It could be four separate parties or two parties with different wings within them.