Will the 2012 election give us a Republican President?

When asked which of the potential Republican primary candidates do you hate the least, likely Republican voters had a difficult time choosing.

With such a homely field of potential opponents, and still basking in the glow of a ratings boost brought by the take-down of bin Laden, the current administration might have cause to start the celebrations early. But then Jimmy Carter was holding his own over against Saint Ronnie over most of the 1979 campaign season, until this particular question was aired.

Suddenly a virtually tied race took a turn for the worse, and President Carter eventually became known in Republican circles as the "worst President ever." The recession had cost 7.9% of American jobs, and Reagan capitalized on that.

With unemployment hovering stubbornly around the 10% mark, our economy is in worse shape now than it was then. If our current President wishes to not become another one-hit wonder, he had better figure out how to corral the wingnuts in his own party, ally with some of the more moderate Republicans and discover a way to make the answer to this questionat least slightly affirmative in the mind of the average American.

The middle ground holds the solutions to our economic woes. The only thing standing between the fairly moderate Obama and the unemployment line is the wingnuts in his own party. The wingers on the other side of the aisle have taken an intractable position and must be ignored. There are radicals on both sides of the aisle. Forget them and work with the moderates.

Finding and working with the centrists is the best hope this administration has of convincing the true silent majority, those decisive swing voters, to pull the blue lever come November. 

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H/T 538