COMMENTARY | It's been a long, tough road for the national economy, and the nation as a whole. Most of us, exhausted with the situation, roll our cynical eyes at the political baiting rolling back and forth as our incumbent president, now seen as decidedly lackluster, prepares to lock horns with whoever wins this overlong king-of-the-mountain match among a plethora of Republicans.
The two biggest questions: What was the president going to do about the economy? Which Republican was going to rise up to challenge him in 2012?
While the answers are not crystal-clear yet, the stage is almost complete for next year's showdown. If Obama can fix the economy, or at least make some headway, he is likely to win a second term. If he doesn't, it will be a veritable coin toss between him and the two current GOP frontrunners.
First, the jobs speech: According to The Associated Press, President Obama came out aggressively in his speech, asking for $450 billion to put toward jobs. This figure was higher than anticipated, with earlier reports suggesting a federal job stimulus package around the $300 billion range, according to Reuters.
The speech, according to AP, was heavily steeped in politics and urged Americans to request their congressmen to act quickly. CNN reports Obama's stimulus plan tried to cover all bases, incorporating Republican-favored tax cuts and expenditure decreases along with increased spending for jobs.
Despite the Obama administration's attempt at bipartisan support for the stimulus, Republican lawmakers appeared unswayed, with GOP senators Mitch McConnell and John Kyl responding negatively to the proposal as "politics" and "more of the same policies."
While stalwart Republicans may be skeptical of the president's proposed economic policies, the speech is likely to help the embattled incumbent commander in chief among moderates and independents. Insisting on a hefty package of $450 billion, as opposed to a more modest $300 billion, shows Obama is not being timid and he plans to attack the painful unemployment problem with some gusto.
Politically, the increasingly-milquetoast executive needed to show some muscle, and he did so. He is in better shape tonight than he has been for a while.
The second question regards Obama's eventual GOP challenger: The Republican debate at the Reagan Library Wednesday, according to Politico, featured heavy verbal combat between frontrunners Rick Perry (governor of Texas) and Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachusetts). The two have heavy leads over the large field of Republican candidates and spent much time arguing about who was better at creating jobs, reportedly with tense rhetoric included.
Not surprisingly the race appears to have crystallized into a Perry v. Romney contest, with that consensus being reached by the Washington Post. While the Post reported it was a two-man race "for the moment," it appears unlikely, given the fickle nature of elected politics and the need for heavy bankrolls, that any of the now-minor Republican candidates can stage a successful comeback against the well-funded campaigns of old-money Romney and Texas-oil-money Perry.
The stage is set for bigger showdowns between the frontrunners, and I expect the minor candidates to begin dropping out as their wallets thin and their campaign staffs look for greener pastures -- perhaps in the employ of those two gubernatorial powerhouses leading the Republican pack.
So now the contest has crystallized into a Romney v. Perry slugfest and both men face crystallized opposition in the form of an invigorated incumbent, who has thrown out a $450 billion challenge. The Republicans got simplified and the Democrats got stronger.
Open your Web browser to your favorite editorial page and watch the partisan sniping begin!
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