Primary Challenge for Obama? No Way

Ever since President Obama was elected, there have been murmurs he’d see a primary challenge in 2012—but that’s farfetched, writes Ed Kilgore in the New Republic. First off, there would need to be a “coherent bloc” of primary voters against him; there isn’t. Three-quarters of Dems want him reelected, and those who’d like a challenger don’t agree on whether that contender should come from Obama’s right or left.

Meanwhile, Obama’s approval rating among his party is 81%—that’s higher than any of the last three Democratic presidents. And Obama has consistent support from African-Americans. “Can you conceive of a left-wing revolt that runs directly counter to the manifest wishes of the largest and most loyal segment of the Democratic base?” Finally, there’s no single “galvanizing issue” on which an opponent could run. Expect a “marginal opponent,” perhaps, but no “more serious comers.”
(More President Obama stories.)