...There is a real way to save the Obama presidency: by challenging him in the 2012 presidential primaries with a candidate who would unequivocally commit to a well-defined progressive agenda and contrast it with the Obama administration's policies. Such a candidacy would be pooh-poohed by the media, but if it gathered enough popular support - as is likely given the level of alienation among many who were the backbone of Obama's 2008 success - this campaign would pressure Obama toward much more progressive positions and make him a more viable 2012 candidate. Far from weakening his chances for reelection, this kind of progressive primary challenge could save Obama if he moves in the desired direction. And if he holds firm to his current track, he's a goner anyway.
...Public officials who would make excellent candidates should they run on this platform include Sens. Russ Feingold, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Mikulski or Al Franken; Reps. Joe Sestak, Maxine Waters, Raul Grijalva, Alan Grayson, Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich, Lois Capps, Jim Moran and Lynn Woolsey. Others include Jim McGovern, Marcy Kaptur, Jim McDermott or John Conyers. We should also consider popular figures outside of government. How about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? Why not Rachel Maddow, Bill Moyers, Susan Sarandon or the Rev. James Forbes? All suggestions need to be part of this critical conversation. What's clear is that we need such a candidate, and the finances to back her or him, very soon. ...Michael Lerner, in the Washington Post
Finances? Money? The Democrats way, way outspent Republicans in the run-up to the midterms. Better control of the media, a clearer and better articulated message, and then a bunch of money -- that should do the trick.
...The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outspent its Republican rival by more than $23 million in the weeks leading up to Election Day... Both committees borrowed heavily to fuel their 11th-hour spending sprees, the DCCC finished the period with debts of more than $19.4 million, including nearly $4.5 million in unpaid bills and another outstanding Bank of America loan of $15 million. The NRCC, meanwhile, reported debt of $12 million, having drawn from a $20 million line of credit. Putting the debt aside, each committee finished the period with modest cash balances: $4.7 million for the Republican committee and $3.1 million for the Democrats. The numbers released Thursday evening do not include tens of millions of dollars more in spending by the campaign committees for Senate Republicans and Democrats and the Republican and Democratic national committees. But they are the first to detail exploding spending levels ...Roll Call
Meanwhile, down Pennsylvania Avenue, the president and Constitutional law professor is turning over in his mind the uses of executive power.
...He's considering bold new executive moves that likely could never pass Congress. Among them: using the massive purchasing power of the federal government to reward business that pay a living wage, and regulating emissions that cause global warming without first winning legislation to combat climate change. However, these initiatives have percolated in his administration for months without decision, and he still could balk. ...McClatchy
Taken together, the record suggests a leader still finding his way.
