Obama Will Win a Second Term as President

There is tension in the air, a kind of charged foreboding. It arises from a single question: What if Obama loses to Mitt Romney in the Nov. 6^th election?

Between anxious Americans and chattering pundits, the consensus seems to be that if Obama wins at all, it will be by the slimmest of margins. That also means that he may lose by the slimmest of margins. It may even come down to a tie. An electoral nightmare will then descend on America, paralyzing government and letting loose the vicious dogs of partisan warfare.

Relax, my fellow Americans. Nothing of the sort will happen.

Obama will win a second term as President of the United States of America. And he will win by a comfortable margin, with at least 300 electoral votes, 30 more than what is required.

Why will Obama win? It’s simple, really. Obama will win because he is the better candidate, and in their guts, a majority of Americans know it, including those who will vote for Romney. Obama is not slick. He does not bend in the direction of the current political wind. He is more humane, bringing healthcare to millions of Americans who would otherwise be left twisting in the wind if Romney were to be elected. The wealthy, most of whom amassed their riches on the backs of vulnerable Americans and government subsidy, will have to pay more tax, as simple justice demands. Renewable energy will have a better chance of flourishing, with potential breakthroughs in technology. Brakes will be applied on brazen thievery by bankers and Wall Street honchos who have destroyed a significant percentage of middle-income American families. And global warming will be dealt with from the perspective of scientists, not blowhards.

Obama has not exactly been a profile in courage. The word that perhaps best describes him is “prudence.” But we have seen what “bold” can do. George Bush tried to remake the Middle-East in his own image by inventing weapons of mass destruction. The cost of that arrogance has been incalculable.

The charge has been made that in his inaugural address in 2009, Obama promised to think, dream and perform big. It didn’t pan out. Most of his successes have been incremental, prose rather than poetry. But that’s what America needed in the last four years: avoid catastrophes at home and abroad by pursuing the middle path.

In his second term, the President can deliver on the promise of his first inaugural address and go for at least one or two bold moves that fire the imagination. Unburdened by expectations, he can set in motion policies that can generate good jobs at home and stability and peace abroad.

Mitt Romney is beholden to the extremist elements of the Republican Party. No matter how hard he may try to bring democrats and republicans together, his agenda will be driven by the Tea Party manifesto. This will be a nightmare for America.

Obama put Romney in the race with his inexcusable performance in the first debate. Romney’s dominance in that debate gave him the surge he needed to make this election a contest. But Obama also helped himself by the way he picked up the pieces in the two debates afterwards. Americans can identify with a candidate who suffers a decisive defeat at first and then goes on to stage a stirring comeback.

Along with “prudence,” another word that defines Obama is “lucky.” The man embodies luck. He got Osama bin Laden. Just when the economy is about to sink further, job prospects look up. When home sales hit the bottom, statistics indicate that prices are beginning to rebound. Romney can fight Obama on any front but when it comes to luck, the challenger is defenseless.

Obama's winning a second term is an even more impressive achievement than his first win. In 2008, Obama was riding on the wings of hope and change. After eight dark years under George Bush, Americans yearned for a change. There was the novelty of an African-America residing in the White House. John McCain didn’t help his case by choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. The country, and the world, held its breath for history to be made. And history was made.

But now there is no history to be made. The novelty has worn off. With his cautious and hesitant approach, ‘no drama’ Obama has brought us down to earth. His eloquence worked against him when his deeds fell short of his soaring words.

The honeymoon has definitely been over. That is why, to still elect him for a second term after seeing his flaws exposed under the harsh glare of reality, is so significant. Obama is not the embodiment of the impossible hopes we invested in him. He is neither the savior of the oppressed nor the statesman who can see farther than anyone else. He is just who he is, and that is good enough for us to choose him over Mitt Romney.

Congratulations, President Obama, for winning the toughest fight of your life. Now, please deliver on your promise by aiming higher than you have so far

For Obama, All's Well that Ends Well

President Obama won the third and final debate against challenger Mitt Romney on both style and substance. The pundits were full of wild speculations about how Libya was going to dominate the debate but nothing of the sort happened. Romney has consistently excelled as the nation's armchair-general-in-chief but the wind went out of his sail when Obama exposed his "wrong and reckless" policies on Libya, Iran and Syria.

Obama invoked John Kennedy's stand on the Cuban missile crisis 50 years ago (today is the 50th anniversary of the crisis) to remind Romney and American voters that he will keep America's military supremacy intact.

While Romney talked in general terms, Obama spoke in specifics. (Romney: During Arab Spring, people took to the streets of Egypt. Obama: Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square.) 

It was supposed to be a debate about foreign policy but reverted to domestic policy again and again. Like a robot, Romney kept repeating his mantra about his 5-point formula to turn America into Utopia, in spite of its evisceration by economists and policy-makers. When Obama asked Romney to provide some specifics, Romney suggested that the president visit his website where apparently his plan is laid out in full. "We visited your website and it still doesn't add up," replied the President. The audience roared with laughter.

Obama spoke with ease and confidence and you could see hope draining away from Romney's face. There was none of the bravado and arrogance we saw in the first debate. "This guy has found my number," Romney's expression suggested, "and there is nothing I can do about it!"

Romney didn't endear himself to the teachers of America when he said he loved teachers as well but "you cannot solve America's problem by hiring more teachers and reducing class size." Obama responded that these steps make a fundamental difference and go a long way toward solving America's problems. While Romney tried to make the case (again) that under his leadership, Massachusetts had the best educational records in Math and English for 4th and 8th graders, Obama reminded him that the record was already in place before he became the governor.

Obama made the difference between him and Romney stark by stating that his challenger's policies will take America back to the "cold war of 1980s, social policies of the 1920s and the economic policies of the 1950s." All Romney could offer in response was ... stunned silence.

As I was watching the debate, another "momentous" event was taking place in San Francisco. The SF Giants were playing in the second round of the 2012 National League playoff series, facing the Saint Louis Cardinals in the seventh and decisive game, after being down 3 games to 1. In the first round, they were down 2-0 against the Cincinnati Reds but took the next 3 games away from home, a record comeback in a 5-game series. From being down 3-1 against the Cardinals, they took the next 2 games and were 3-3 going into the 7th game. So what happened in that final game? Giants beat the Cardinals 9-0! SF Giants have proven to be the ultimate comeback kid. Whether or not they win the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, their back-to-back stirring comebacks will inspire baseball fans and players for years to come.

Barack Obama, too, made a stirring comeback after his first defeat, so his parallel with the SF Giants is impossible to overlook. But the President needs to beat Mitt Romney on November 6. We cannot return to another George Bush presidency. While I will be rooting for SF Giants to win the 2012 World Series, the world will not fall apart if the team doesn't. I will be rooting  for President Obama to get elected for a second term because I know the world will indeed fall apart if Mitt Romney becomes the next president of the United States.

I am confident of Obama's victory on November 6, even if by the narrowest of margins. I am confident that American voters will choose restraint over brinkmanship, reason over recklessness, coherence over crass pandering, and Obama over Romney.

Obama Finds His Stride

The turning point in the second debate tonight came when Mitt Romney suggested that President Obama did not characterize the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi as a terror attack until 14 days after the extremists had infiltrated the compound and killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

This was after Obama had asserted that he had gone to the Rose Garden the day after attack to say “this was an act of terror.”

“Get the transcript,” the President said. In fact, moderator Candy Crowley of CNN had to interject, “He did in fact, sir,” addressing Romney.

“Can you say that a little louder, Candy?” requested the President.

(Here's what the President said in the Rose Garden on September 12: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.")

As the Nassau audience applaued, the wind went out of Romney’s sail. A stern Obama also scored huge points when he came down hard on Romney’s insinuations that the President had used the Benghazi attack for political advantage.  “The suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the secretary of state, our U.N. ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we’ve lost four of our own, Governor, is offensive.  That’s not what we do. That’s not what I do as president, that’s not what I do as commander-in-chief.”

Finally we got to see the Obama we wanted to see in the first debate. He was assertive without being overbearing. He looked directly at his challenger and dissected Romney's arguments with the precision of a surgeon. While Romney tried to distance himself from former president Bush, Obama also scored points by portraying a humane and competent Bush.

President Obama regained his stride after his inexplicably poor performance in the first debate. If all’s well that ends well, then a similar feisty and passionate performance in the third and final debate this coming Monday should boost Obama’s chances.

In California’s liberal Silicon Valley today, I saw two cars sporting the same bumper sticker: “I was anti-Obama before it was cool.”

The anti-Obama crowd will never be placated but the main question is: Was Obama able to  regain some of the undecided voters who were beginning to lean toward Romney after the President's debacle in Denver? Most certainly.

If the Benghazi moment was the highlight of the debate, a close second was Obama's closing statement in which he was able to nail Romney's cruel "47%" comment. The President said: "I believe Governor Romney is a good man. Loves his family, cares about his faith. But I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country considered themselves victims who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about. Folks on Social Security who’ve worked all their lives. Veterans who’ve sacrificed for this country. Students who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams, but also this country’s dreams. Soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now. People who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don’t make enough income.And I want to fight for them. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last four years. Because if they succeed, I believe the country succeeds."
 

An intriguing Presidential election is coming our way on November 6. It will be a fight to the finish and it will be close. But good sense will ultimately prevail and it is likely that Americans will reward President Obama with a second term. Only one request, Mr. President: Make the third and final debate with Mitt Romney as interesting and feisty and passionate as this one!