Politics
The Midterms:
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GOP’s Target
Is Obama
The election is a year away, but insiders are
already in overdrive, crafting strategies that
will return conservatives to a prominent .
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legislative role. Countering Obama’s
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left-leaning leadership requires keeping a
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close eye on two things — unemployment
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and the budget defi cit.
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By John Mercurio “Every midterm election is, to a
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great degree, a referendum on the
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NE YEAR AFTER THE 2008 ELEC- incumbent president, and Obama
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tions forced them out of power will be no different in 2010,” said
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and into a period of self-refl ec- Larry Sabato, a political science pro-
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tion and doubt, Republicans today fessor at the University of Virginia.
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face a new, more promising politi- “This is true even when a president
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cal landscape. But halfway between is relatively popular.”
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their biggest rebuke in decades and Obama is, of course, still relatively
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a midterm election they hope will popular. However, his approval rat-
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launch their rebirth, GOP prospects ings have dropped 20 points since J
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hinge on the fate of a man they’ve Jan. 1 to just 49 percent, according
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underestimated before: President to Rasmussen Reports, and there is S
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Barack Obama. growing concern about his admin-
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Hot races are already gearing up istration’s ability to manage top-pri-
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for 35 Senate seats, all 435 House ority issues such as the economy,
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seats and 38 governorships, includ- energy, and healthcare, while lead-
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ing those in the country’s four most ing an increasingly complex war in
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populous states. To make big gains, Afghanistan and a troop withdrawal
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however, Republicans will need from Iraq — all at the same time.
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more than top-tier candidates, strong Republicans have suffered dev-
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fundraising, and good luck. They’ll astating drubbings in the past four
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need a weakened president, a demor- years that have left them with their
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alized Democratic base and an issues smallest minorities in more than
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landscape that will be shaped almost 40 years, making it hard to chart a
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entirely by the party in power. realistic path through which they
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30 NEWSMAX / NOVEMBER 2009
30_POL_Midterms.indd 30 10/1/09 12:02 PM
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