Salon: The Mirage of the Obama Coalition
Nation, obama, POTUS 1:18 AM
Salon magazine editor Joan Walsh ran an interesting article on Wednesday titled The Mirage of the Obama Coalition. In it, she describes the unlikely hodgepodge of Obamicans, liberals, latinos and labor that swept the president into office in 2008. Walsh says Obama appears to be in big trouble with each group as his approval rating tumbles. A breakup of the 2008 base spells disaster for the re-election campaign. Here is a great excerpt:
One big problem for Obama is that he assembled an unprecedented electoral coalition in 2008, but it wasn't a governing coalition. Progressives like to think of the themselves as the president's base, and it's partly true: Obama won thanks to an unrivaled turnout of young voters, first time voters, African Americans and Latinos; and an energetic labor effort. But they – we – weren't enough by ourselves. He also did well with independents and even some Republicans who were ashamed of what the Bush Cheney years did to their party. Predictably, lot of those voters are going home now.
Posted by Nick Stone
on 1:18 AM.
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