Cheney Says Obama Is a One Term President

2/24/2010, by Proloy Bhatta

HIGHLIGHTS

• Obama's appproval rating has dropped from 64% to 45% in Florida
• Obama's appproval rating has dropped from 63% to 49% in Pennsylvania
• Obama's appproval rating has dropped from 67% to 45% in Ohio

At CPAC, Dick Cheney stated Barack Obama was going to be a one-term president.

Obama won the 2008 election by 192 electoral votes -- more than doubling McCain's 173. When considering raw percentages, Obama's victory was not as compelling. He beat McCain by seven points, 53% to 46%, in a year that was meant to be primed for a Democratic president.

Obama stands to have a tougher time to win in 2012.

The most daunting task for him will be to keep up the enthusiasm for his candidacy. In 2008, he was fresh and an appeal to change. But in 2012, he will be the incumbent.

The second most daunting task will be for him to maintain the support of the younger generation. As evidenced by Pew Research, support for Democrats among 18-29 year olds has dropped by 8% -- while support for Republicans has jumped 10%. NY Daily News said that "the takeaway from this survey, analysts told the Associated Press, is that the youth vote is up for grabs to both Republicans and Democrats."

The 2012 Republican candidate would only need to pick up 97 more electoral votes if he/she were to sweep the McCain states.

By sweeping the following six battleground states, the Republican will have been able to get to 280 total electoral votes and win the presidency.

Florida - 27
Pennsylvania - 21
Ohio - 20
North Carolina - 15
Virginia - 13
Indiana - 11

And the polls suggest Obama has been slipping in these states.

According to Quinnipiac University, Obama's appproval rating

• has dropped from 64% to 45% in Florida
• has dropped from 63% to 49% in Pennsylvania
• has dropped from 67% to 45% in Ohio

By contrast, Obama's approval rating remains at or near 60% in safe Dem states like California and New York.

If there is a third party candidate, then it changes the dynamics of the whole race.