'If It Is Someone Who Can Be Spun and Framed as a Fanatic, He Can Survive'

There are no ifs about it. This will be the Obama campaign for 2012. You see the early manifestations already with the deplorable remarks by the racist Maxine Waters and that buffoonish woman with the fake cowboy hat, as they desperately smear Tea Partiers. Think it's bad now? Just wait until Obama is sitting at 30% in the polls heading into the general election and he tries to win back independents who've largely abandoned him.

A bus tour last week that traveled through mostly white, rural areas in three Midwestern states was also an effort to speak to independents. During the tour, Obama ripped Congress.

Jason Johnson, a political professor at Hiram College in Ohio, said the White House was correct in thinking that independents would value the deal. The problem, Johnson said, is that the public soured on the debt accord since it was quickly followed by the S&P's decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

“He ends up having a deal which the left is unhappy with and you still get a downgrade, which is really the thing independents care about,” Johnson said.

The chances of Obama’s reelection are "going to be strongly influenced by the GOP nominee,” says Baker. “If it is someone who can be spun and framed as a fanatic, he can survive.”

When was the last time a Republican wasn't portrayed as a fanatic?