President Obama's 2012 Campaign Analysis
The Presidential election of 2012 exhibited the deep polarization the United States political system had gone through. After winning the presidency against the Republican nominee John McCain, President Obama was facing a series of challenges when it came to counteracting the situation of the economy and working productively with the GOP. The progressive ideals that he proposed were contradicted with his new challenger in the 2012 election, Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. After colliding with the Republicans on major issues, it was explicit for President Obama that his 2012 presidential campaign will not carry the same message for unity and progression as his 2008 campaign did. And on the contrary, Governor Romany had to eradicate
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this notion that he was not in touch with everyday Americans. Both candidates had crucial missteps during their respective campaigns. Nevertheless, what determined the 2012 election did not solely depend on these missteps, but rather the response the candidates’ campaign issued to these the controversy that arose, and how well both President Obama and Governor Romney capitalized on key moments that were pivotal in gaining the traction from day one.
Governor Romney
Governor Romney was unprecedented in his approach to running his campaign. When he first entered the race, he was “pessimistic about his changes that he called Tagg early one morning to say he thought he was not going to run after all (340). However, Governor Romney understood that the state of our political system could be resolved if our nation were to return to the key principles that the Republican Party aligned with. He ran because he felt a sense of duty and this is what led him through his primary win. But, the real challenge that lay ahead was going after an incumbent President that was universally admired due to the character he displayed. And, to a large extent, Governor Romney was able to work around this dilemma and focus the conversation on the weaknesses that President Obama exhibited especially when it came to his response to the economy after the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.
Governor Romney undermined the progress that President Obama’s first presidential term brought about.
Unemployment remained above 8% and the President was not able to work collectively with Congress to pass any major legislation that could counteract what was transpiring within the nation. This is where Governor Romany was able to capitalize especially due to his successful career in the private sector. His business record appealed to voters and it brought about the sense that he would be able to bring employment within the nation. This is the narrative that the Romany campaigned carried throughout the election, and what lead to all the traction he was gaining. In addition, the fundamental messages of conservatism resonated with Mitt Romney and it connected with Republican voters across the nation. This is a paramount concept to understand because of the polarization that was occurring with the nation. Never before has it been so clear what values align with the Democratic Party and what values align with the Republican Party. And choosing a well-respected Republican such Representative Paul Ryan reinforced this argument during pivotal events such as the National Convention and the Presidential …show more content…
Debates.
As alluded to above, Governor Romney was well qualified for the Presidency. He had the Republican coalition behind him every step of the way. But, his loss to President Obama suggested this was not enough. There were copious bad judgments made by the nominee as well as his campaign. And the chief obstacle that Governor Romney failed to overcome the obstacle to “this sentiment that Mitt ‘doesn’t understand people like me’” (251). After he won the nomination of his party, the President’s campaign wasted no resources to highlight this fact. From the inception of the attack ads launched on Governor Romney, this notion that Governor Romney’s experience with Bain will not transcend with the common American was never really counteracted my Romney’s campaign. This was really an attack on Romney’s character regarding how he did not fathom what the middle class were going through due to the reason his net worth was in the millions. He was classified with the top 1%. Nevertheless, any counter would have better than none. And the prime reason Romney was not able to counter was because many voters, “although disappointed in Obama,” admired him “personally and recoiled against some of the kinds of persona attacks common in campaigns” (260). In addition, this perception of Governor Romney was reinforced after his 47% comment. Although he built his momentum after the convention, and the first presidential debate where he unveiled who Mitt Romney truly was, he never carried that view till Election Day. There are various other arguments that could me made such as Romney failed to mobilize his voters, failed to allocate attention to Latinos, failure to carry key swing states, etc. But, Mitt Romney’s failure to define himself to the American people as a President who will fight for the common man, ultimately led to his loss.
President Obama
The situation in which President Obama had entered the White House had directly affected the way he 2012 Presidential bid would transpire. He was entering an election season after one of the worst elections for Democrats in 2010. The Democrats had lost 63 seats in the House, and six seats in the Senate. President Obam now had challenge of working with the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, and the new Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. They were strong opponents of the legislation proposed by President Obama on a spectrum of issues. The party politics and the polarization that was occurring within Washington were resonating with Americas across the nation. Obama’s failure to work with Republicans in a constructive way was not directly his fault, but voters, even those who backed Obama in 2008, blamed him for not “doing more.” President Obama was entering a race where the state of the nation’s economy and the overall environment of American politics were his biggest obstacles. When the President ran for 2008, his narrative was clear. He became the face for the Democratic Party because of his tenacity, his charisma, and his progressive ideologies. His connection with everyday Americans is ultimately what led to his landside of a victory against John McCain. However, the election of 2012 was divergent from four years ago. President Obama now had four years in the oval and a track record he had to defend. The rhetoric that Obama had conveyed during the election of 2008 had not been transformed into concrete actions within those four years. The economy was still recovering at a sluggish rate, and the parties had no intention in engaging in bipartisanship. Moreover, President Obama had lost his narrative. If an Obama campaigner were to go out and ask ten democrats what President Obama stood for and his message, there would be ten different responses. This was the main obstacle that the campaign faced since they initiated the 2012 campaign.
The campaign needed to orientate the President in a way that would show that he was placed in the White House with the economy on the brink of collapse.
Yet he was able to bring it back, and only he can continue to grow the economy. In addition, the campaign needed to show that the policies and approach that Romney would bring within the White House will not work. President Obama recentralized his approach and tacked the campaign trail with full throttle. He conducted rallies around the nation, especially the battleground states that he carried so successfully, and revamped his support. The Democratic National convention was indisputably a great success for the President. The endorsements of key figures such as Former President Bill Clinton reassured Democratic voters that President Obama was the only choice to bring our nation forward. His convention bump helped establish the momentum the President needed to the Election Day. David Axelrod and David Plouffe also reinforced the attention on data collection. This was a very big contradiction to Romney’s campaign. The system that the President’s campaign created relied on collection of mass data, and it made it easier for volunteers and campaign offices to coordinate their message and actions nationwide. From the inception, everyone knew that this campaign could not be run like the 2008 election. And because of the adaptions that were made, President Obama successfully recaptured his voter base. He had managed to do what the
Romney team feared which was “rekindle the flame from 2008” (295). He attracted voters such as Latinos and African Americans once again despite his poor performance in his first term. And once his narrative became clear again, there was no stopping President Obama and effort of his campaign.
Although President Obama won the election of 2012, he was not able to carry states that aligned with him in 2008. The electoral vote count for President Obama was 332, which was lower than the electoral vote of 365 in 2008. And although there are a plethora of explanations for why this is, the main argument is that President Obama was participating in an election where politics was more polarized. Never before had America seen such an election where both candidates were attacked regarding their policies and their predispositions. The fundamental debate that began after this election was how President Obama was going to work with a city that was so against each other. And he answered that question in his inauguration speech where he took on the Republicans and understood that it was time to take action because the time for working together, and debating was over. The ongoing story now is how will President Obama establish his legacy, as the 44th President, and will the Republicans let him do what he feels is best for our nation and the people. He had won the battle of winning the Presidency twice now, but a new war awaited him and one that would carry on for the next four years.
this notion that he was not in touch with everyday Americans. Both candidates had crucial missteps during their respective campaigns. Nevertheless, what determined the 2012 election did not solely depend on these missteps, but rather the response the candidates’ campaign issued to these the controversy that arose, and how well both President Obama and Governor Romney capitalized on key moments that were pivotal in gaining the traction from day one.
Governor Romney
Governor Romney was unprecedented in his approach to running his campaign. When he first entered the race, he was “pessimistic about his changes that he called Tagg early one morning to say he thought he was not going to run after all (340). However, Governor Romney understood that the state of our political system could be resolved if our nation were to return to the key principles that the Republican Party aligned with. He ran because he felt a sense of duty and this is what led him through his primary win. But, the real challenge that lay ahead was going after an incumbent President that was universally admired due to the character he displayed. And, to a large extent, Governor Romney was able to work around this dilemma and focus the conversation on the weaknesses that President Obama exhibited especially when it came to his response to the economy after the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.
Governor Romney undermined the progress that President Obama’s first presidential term brought about.
Unemployment remained above 8% and the President was not able to work collectively with Congress to pass any major legislation that could counteract what was transpiring within the nation. This is where Governor Romany was able to capitalize especially due to his successful career in the private sector. His business record appealed to voters and it brought about the sense that he would be able to bring employment within the nation. This is the narrative that the Romany campaigned carried throughout the election, and what lead to all the traction he was gaining. In addition, the fundamental messages of conservatism resonated with Mitt Romney and it connected with Republican voters across the nation. This is a paramount concept to understand because of the polarization that was occurring with the nation. Never before has it been so clear what values align with the Democratic Party and what values align with the Republican Party. And choosing a well-respected Republican such Representative Paul Ryan reinforced this argument during pivotal events such as the National Convention and the Presidential …show more content…
Debates.
As alluded to above, Governor Romney was well qualified for the Presidency. He had the Republican coalition behind him every step of the way. But, his loss to President Obama suggested this was not enough. There were copious bad judgments made by the nominee as well as his campaign. And the chief obstacle that Governor Romney failed to overcome the obstacle to “this sentiment that Mitt ‘doesn’t understand people like me’” (251). After he won the nomination of his party, the President’s campaign wasted no resources to highlight this fact. From the inception of the attack ads launched on Governor Romney, this notion that Governor Romney’s experience with Bain will not transcend with the common American was never really counteracted my Romney’s campaign. This was really an attack on Romney’s character regarding how he did not fathom what the middle class were going through due to the reason his net worth was in the millions. He was classified with the top 1%. Nevertheless, any counter would have better than none. And the prime reason Romney was not able to counter was because many voters, “although disappointed in Obama,” admired him “personally and recoiled against some of the kinds of persona attacks common in campaigns” (260). In addition, this perception of Governor Romney was reinforced after his 47% comment. Although he built his momentum after the convention, and the first presidential debate where he unveiled who Mitt Romney truly was, he never carried that view till Election Day. There are various other arguments that could me made such as Romney failed to mobilize his voters, failed to allocate attention to Latinos, failure to carry key swing states, etc. But, Mitt Romney’s failure to define himself to the American people as a President who will fight for the common man, ultimately led to his loss.
President Obama
The situation in which President Obama had entered the White House had directly affected the way he 2012 Presidential bid would transpire. He was entering an election season after one of the worst elections for Democrats in 2010. The Democrats had lost 63 seats in the House, and six seats in the Senate. President Obam now had challenge of working with the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, and the new Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. They were strong opponents of the legislation proposed by President Obama on a spectrum of issues. The party politics and the polarization that was occurring within Washington were resonating with Americas across the nation. Obama’s failure to work with Republicans in a constructive way was not directly his fault, but voters, even those who backed Obama in 2008, blamed him for not “doing more.” President Obama was entering a race where the state of the nation’s economy and the overall environment of American politics were his biggest obstacles. When the President ran for 2008, his narrative was clear. He became the face for the Democratic Party because of his tenacity, his charisma, and his progressive ideologies. His connection with everyday Americans is ultimately what led to his landside of a victory against John McCain. However, the election of 2012 was divergent from four years ago. President Obama now had four years in the oval and a track record he had to defend. The rhetoric that Obama had conveyed during the election of 2008 had not been transformed into concrete actions within those four years. The economy was still recovering at a sluggish rate, and the parties had no intention in engaging in bipartisanship. Moreover, President Obama had lost his narrative. If an Obama campaigner were to go out and ask ten democrats what President Obama stood for and his message, there would be ten different responses. This was the main obstacle that the campaign faced since they initiated the 2012 campaign.
The campaign needed to orientate the President in a way that would show that he was placed in the White House with the economy on the brink of collapse.
Yet he was able to bring it back, and only he can continue to grow the economy. In addition, the campaign needed to show that the policies and approach that Romney would bring within the White House will not work. President Obama recentralized his approach and tacked the campaign trail with full throttle. He conducted rallies around the nation, especially the battleground states that he carried so successfully, and revamped his support. The Democratic National convention was indisputably a great success for the President. The endorsements of key figures such as Former President Bill Clinton reassured Democratic voters that President Obama was the only choice to bring our nation forward. His convention bump helped establish the momentum the President needed to the Election Day. David Axelrod and David Plouffe also reinforced the attention on data collection. This was a very big contradiction to Romney’s campaign. The system that the President’s campaign created relied on collection of mass data, and it made it easier for volunteers and campaign offices to coordinate their message and actions nationwide. From the inception, everyone knew that this campaign could not be run like the 2008 election. And because of the adaptions that were made, President Obama successfully recaptured his voter base. He had managed to do what the
Romney team feared which was “rekindle the flame from 2008” (295). He attracted voters such as Latinos and African Americans once again despite his poor performance in his first term. And once his narrative became clear again, there was no stopping President Obama and effort of his campaign.
Although President Obama won the election of 2012, he was not able to carry states that aligned with him in 2008. The electoral vote count for President Obama was 332, which was lower than the electoral vote of 365 in 2008. And although there are a plethora of explanations for why this is, the main argument is that President Obama was participating in an election where politics was more polarized. Never before had America seen such an election where both candidates were attacked regarding their policies and their predispositions. The fundamental debate that began after this election was how President Obama was going to work with a city that was so against each other. And he answered that question in his inauguration speech where he took on the Republicans and understood that it was time to take action because the time for working together, and debating was over. The ongoing story now is how will President Obama establish his legacy, as the 44th President, and will the Republicans let him do what he feels is best for our nation and the people. He had won the battle of winning the Presidency twice now, but a new war awaited him and one that would carry on for the next four years.