The One-Termer

Roger Simon at Politico is unusually critical of the president:

Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president?

A: Yes, he might last that long.

 Honest to goodness, the man just does not get it. He might be forced to pull a Palin and resign before his first term is over. He could go off and write his memoirs and build his presidential library. (Both would be half-size, of course.)

I am not saying Obama is not smart; he is as smart as a whip. I am just saying he does not understand what savvy first-term presidents need to understand:

You have to stay on message, follow the polls, listen to your advisers (who are writing the message and taking the polls) and realize that when it comes to doing what is right versus doing what is expedient, you do what is expedient so that you can get reelected and do what is right in the second term. If at all possible. And it will help your legacy. And not endanger the election of others in your party. And not hurt the brand. Or upset people too much.

There's more at the link.

You can't get too excited about one-term talk at this point in the presidency if you're old enough to remember Bill Clinton. After the '94 midterms he was dead man walking and yet thanks to a recovering economy (thank you GOP Congress) and a weak opponent in '96 he won reelection rather handily.

Jimmuh Carter, who had an equally dismal first term, didn't fare so well thanks to Ronald Reagan and Carter's general incompetence. I don't see a Ronald Reagan on the horizon and while Obama displays a remarkable tone deafness toward the electorate and far left politics, I don't think he'll be known for incompetence. If anything, he pushed too hard to the left and thanks to a cooperative congress did tremendous damage that way.