Our Awesome First Lady Michelle Obama In Pictures

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First Lady Michelle Obama greets guests in the Blue Room of the White House during a Mother's Day Tea for military spouses, relatives, and friends, May 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama greets students following a Flash Mob Dance at Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, D.C., May 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama greets Marines following her remarks to 3,000 Marines, soldiers, sailors, and military family members at Memorial Field House in Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 13, 2011. The event was part of the launch of Joining Forces, a national initiative to support and honor America's service members and their families. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama receives applause following her commencement address to the 2011 graduating class at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, May 7, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama stands as the national anthem is played during the Senate Spouses luncheon at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., May 11, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden wait in the Green Room of the White House before the East Room event to launch the First Lady's and Dr. Biden's Joining Forces national initiative to support and honor America's service members and their families, April 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The Road To 2012 And Why I’m Smiling!

Regardless of what the noise machines of Fox News, MSNBC and to some extent, CNN are saying, President Obama and the Democratic Party are sitting pretty for the 2012 election. The reason why I am smiling is because the American people, with the exception of the extremes on either end, are very perceptive. Sure, the pundits will try to be dramatic and say things so they get asked back on those cable networks…controversy sells, bold pronouncements sell (see Howard Dean) and polls, with all their flawed methodologies, give lazy reporters easy stories. So in the next year and a half, the talking heads on cable TV and broadcast networks will try to make the race close, it’s just best for them, but when push comes to shove and we get to November 6, 2012, President Obama and the Democratic Party are going to win big.

People will say, but what about the unemployment rate, what about the lack of jobs? And those are valid questions. Whereas the media wants to blame all of the country’s problems on POTUS, whether he inherited them or whether they were actually caused by an obstinate Republican Party that has blocked all attempts at fixing it…well the American people, after the campaigns and many speeches, debates, etc. will know the truth. The President has fought hard against a unified front of Republicans intent on thwarting him at every turn and the idiots in the faux-left intent on proving that they were right in opposing Obama all along. Despite those forces arrayed against him, the President has accomplished more than any president since FDR. Go here for the many accomplishments and remember, he was up against a GOP that won’t work with him on anything, except maybe the extension of the tax cuts for the rich, a deal with the devil that the President had to make to get more stimulus, an unemployment extension and keep the economy growing. It was another one of those “Republicans holding the country hostage” situations and I’m sorry folks, you have to compromise in our democracy. There is no way around it. If you haven’t read Milt Shook’s piece at PCTC (Please Cut The Crap), you need to. You should bookmark his site too, he has a lot of great insights into how to win elections.

I’m sure my post will provoke the “Obama Derangement Syndrome” folks on both the left and the right to blow a microchip, but that’s fine, maybe it will jar lose whatever it is that is causing their derangement. It always amazes me how the media created narrative that constantly tries to paint President Obama as incompetent or unqualified (racism is part of it) is so far from what the general public really feels. IF he were incompetent and unqualified, would he have a personal approval rating of 75%, according to a recent CNN poll? Regular readers know how I feel about polls in general, I have a master’s degree in communications research so I’ve studied it a bit. I won’t go there in this post except to say that polls can be useful to gauge general attitudes, but horse race polls between fictional, possible candidates so far out from an election are just an exercise in futility. They get predictive when you get close to an election, and of course Nate Silver is “The Man” when it comes to that. But the number that says 75% of people like President Obama personally, says to me that people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and to listen to him when he speaks. It’s why whenever he gives a major speech or makes an appearance throughout America, he is very well received and people believe him. That is a very powerful sentiment to have going into an election. As long as he tells it like it is, explains the situation and presents what he has tried to do and will try to do, with no help from the GOP, he will swing that blame and anger back to where it belongs.

So I recommend to all you fellow liberals and supporters of President Obama to not get upset when the forces arrayed against him tell us that they are making headway, that’s part of their strategy…to use the bandwagon effect, everyone get on board. Ignore them, keep smiling, keep telling them about the President’s many accomplishments and the Republicans very obvious hatred of middle and working class folks, seniors, students, children, minorities and anyone who doesn’t fit within their Ayn Randian world, where market forces will make everything just peachy. Stay positive, encourage your like minded friends to help, get involved and fight back against the tide that has shown its ugly face in Republican governors like Scott Walker, John Kasich, Chris Christie, and the “Ricks” Scott, Perry and Snyder. Since the VAST majority of the voters in America don’t pay attention AT ALL to those bloviators, their impact is only felt within a small range. It’s like a big choir preaching to each other, while the rest of America goes on with their lives.

But we can’t get complacent, they are some sneaky bastards who will lie, cheat and steal to get the power that benefits their rich friends. We can’t rest on our laurels, we must put up the good fight and build on the momentum that has started in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Florida. The consequences of elections matter and if we really care about people, we have to fight with all our might.