Obama's 2012 Campaign: 'No Hope, No Change'

You never really bought that hope nonsense, did you? Well, now that Barack Obama's term as president has become nothing short of a complete disaster, the only way he can save his presidency is to play the class warfare game, divide Americans and trash his opponents. A truly uplifting message. Let's face it, it could work, especially since he's got a willing and enabling media to help carry water for him.

Forget the utterly predictable spin from the White House - Barack Obama is in serious peril of being a one-term President.

That's why Democratic Party elders know he has to hit the road - the low road.

"No hope, no change," a prominent Democratic strategist with close ties to the White House told the Daily News, referring to the uplifting message that won the day in 2008.

"Time to make the other side the issue."

If the 2012 election is a referendum on Obama, which is usually the case for incumbents running for reelection, he will almost certainly lose.

Even some improvement in the economy might not be enough to save him from 9.1% unemployment and the "wrong track" number, a crucial barometer of voter sentiment, in the stratosphere.

His campaign handlers believe that once Obama has an opponent, his numbers will improve.

"The President will be running against the alternative soon and not the Almighty," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley told reporters recently.

Smart Democratic money knows the odds of a dramatic uptick in the economy in 14 months are slim.

Going negative is the last, best antidote to premature retirement. Making John Kerry the issue in 2004 worked for George W. Bush, for example.

"I've won many an election with a weak candidate by changing the subject to the other guy," a veteran Democratic campaign guru argued. "Obama has no choice if he wants to win."

On the other side of the political barricades, Republicans are salivating at the prospect of an electoral clean sweep, seizing back the White House and Senate while retaining the House.

Bravado aside, party mandarins privately fret that the wrong nominee can ruin their giddy dreams.

"Obama can't win this election, but we can lose it," said one of the GOP's most respected movers and shakers.

After his declaration of class war Monday you can be assured those Americans who do the hiring will be sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a new president and a Republican-controlled Senate, which is a very good possibility. Demonize them all you want, but you can't force someone to hire people while at the same time being demonized and gouged mercilessly by taxes.