There has been several articles recently that speculate that not only is Obama over his head as President, he never realized the position actually required some work.  What a surprise!  It is, however, not too far from reality.  Obama has never had to work in his life.  He’s been the darling of the left, funded by them, supported by them, his mistakes shielded by them and his records hidden by them.  He’s never really been before public scrutiny in his life.

     Talk about being slapped with reality.

     Tony Katz, writing in the PJ Tattler, had this to say.

Will Obama Quit Rather Than Lose Re-election?

On my radio show, I have been discussing the 2012 presidential race, and when mentioning Obama, I have said, “Obama can’t win re-election.  I don’t even know why he is running.”  I have made this declarative statement on my show, as well as interviews on other radio shows around the country.

While some have made mention that it is too early in the race to make such a statement, and that such statements are generally reckless, I stand firm on my words.  Certainly, I could be wrong, and I advocate that no one give up working hard on the race to unseat him, but the writing is on the wall….and, now, on the web.

In today’s  “Morning Jolt” from Jim Geraghty over at NRO, he – knowingly or otherwise – makes my case by quoting Morrissey and Noonan.  From Peggy Noonan, Geraghty quotes:

The market is dispirited. I’m wondering if the president is, too, and if that won’t carry implications for the 2012 race. You can imagine him having lunch with political advisers, hearing some unwanted advice — “Don’t go to Martha’s Vineyard!” — putting his napkin by his plate, pushing back from the table, rising, and saying in a clipped, well-modulated voice: “I’m tired. I’m going. If they want this job so much let them have it.”

     When you look at Obama’s pattern of behavior, when things get tough, he goes golfing.  When things get really tough, he goes on vacation.  When he was informed of the earthquake in Virginia yesterday, an earthquake felt in Martha’s Vineyard, what did Obama do?

     Nothing.  Not even a public statement.

     Pundit Ed Morrissey writing in Hot Air said this.

What if Obama quit?

posted at 10:20 am on August 21, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

I’m not talking about resignation, or just refusing to offer any proposals until after the next election. What if Obama simply decided not to run for a second term as President?

The thought occurred to me after reading Peggy Noonan’s piece this week for the Wall Street Journal, which argues that Obama has already quit in a practical sense:

The phrase of the day is “new lows.” It blares from every screen. The number of Americans satisfied with the ways things are going hits new lows—11%. President Obama’s popularity: new lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average this year: new lows. Maybe it will enter ordinary language. “Charlie, it’s been ages. How are you, how’s Betty?” “I’m experiencing some volatility, but she’s inching toward new lows.”

The market is dispirited. I’m wondering if the president is, too, and if that won’t carry implications for the 2012 race. You can imagine him having lunch with political advisers, hearing some unwanted advice—”Don’t go to Martha’s Vineyard!”—putting his napkin by his plate, pushing back from the table, rising, and saying in a clipped, well-modulated voice: “I’m tired. I’m going. If they want this job so much let them have it.” …

The president shows all the signs of becoming a man who, around the time he unveils his new jobs proposal in September, is going to start musing in interviews about whether anyone can be a successful president now, what with the complexity of the problems and the forces immediately arrayed, in a politically polarized age, against any specific action. That was probably his inner rationale for not coming up with a specific debt-ceiling plan: Why give the inevitable forces a target? But his refusal to produce a plan became itself the target. Reverse Midas.

Under these circumstances he could not possibly be enjoying his job. On the stump this week in the Midwest, he should have been on fire with the joy of combat, he should have had them whooping and hollering with fresh material and funny lines. But even at his feistiest, he was wilted. Distracted. Sometimes he seems to be observing himself and his interactions as opposed to being himself and having interactions. His audiences wanted to show support, it was clear, that’s why they came. But there was something tentative in their response, as if they wanted to come through for the applause line but couldn’t figure out exactly where the applause line was. The president was dropping his g’s, always a terrible sign, a kind of bowing that assumes he speaks from a great height. He also started saying “folks” again. That too is a tell. It’s the word politicians who think they’re better and brighter than normal people use when they’re trying to make normal people think they’re normal.

Nothing says that Obama has to run for a second term in office.  We have had Presidents walk away from opportunities to run for re-election.  Prior to FDR, that would include every President who didn’t run for a third term, of course, but there are examples in the post-22nd Amendment era, too.  Harry Truman was specifically exempted from the term limits imposed by the constitutional amendment but chose not to run for a second full term in 1952.  Lyndon Johnson also chose not to run for his second full term in 1968.  Both men made those choices at least in large part because they had become so unpopular that they clearly couldn’t win, especially LBJ.

If Hillary took Obama’s place in 2012, Republicans would face a much tougher electoral map.  They would still have the advantage of running against Obama’s record, but the GOP may not capture that disaffected Democratic working-class vote if Hillary also ran against Obamanomics and promised a return to Clintonian prosperity.  The eventual Republican nominee would have at least a tougher task in winning those votes and the White House.  And even if Hillary lost in a general election — Democrats lost the White House in 1952 and 1968, coincidentally both times with Richard Nixon on the Republican tickets — the Democrats might save a few Senate seats with an improved turnout in key states.