President Obama Re-election Strategy: Operation “Let’s Stay Together”

Operation “Let’s Stay Together”

Mr. Barack Obama, the president and commander-in-chief did something that may be a clue on how his campaign will be conducted in the forthcoming presidential election. While in New York at the famous Apollo Theater he made the spur-of-the-moment rendition of Rev. Al Green classic song “Let’s Stay Together” and the crowd went ecstatic, later the sales of the classic escalated. Right there he has gotten himself a campaign strategy – Operation “Let’s Stay Together.” A winning strategy of bringing all people together, working together for a common goal of fixing the economy and producing 21st century jobs.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is President Obama pathway to his reelection victory and he’s to bring back his 2008 election campaign style and sensibility. Observing President Obama strategy for victory can best be summarized with the Rev. Al Green classic “Let’s Stay Together.”  As President Obama broke into a line of Rev. Al Green classic song “Let’s Stay Together,”  he brought the house down and that was on every lip in the country. People are coming together and talking about the president and the future with smile and confidence. The economic climate of the country is gradually changing for the best and unemployment is slowly but steadily coming out from the hole.

For the first time in several years the January job report shows that President Obama and his administration are heading in the right direction. The payroll jobs added into the economy was 243,000 while the unemployment fell to 8.3 percent. This positive and solid economic growth is the key to his re-election.

Confidence building statistics are trickling down from US labor Department; fewer people are receiving and filing for unemployment checks. The American productivity and consumer confidence are bumping higher, inflation is under control and Americans are becoming optimistic even bullish on the economy. It is beginning to look like the good time is coming back again. But let us not get so fast, a recession in Europe or China may dampen American rising economy.

That is why it is important for the problem of Greece to be skillfully managed before it does more damage to the European economy that is already weaken by runaway debt. German and French leaders are doing a good job in working with President Obama to make sure that Europe is not totally fallen apart. The success of the going deficit treaty talks in European Union can be a reassurance to the global market and bond holders of European debt. A global double dip recession particularly in Europe will be a disaster to United States and that will not be good news for Obama’s reelection.

Back to Obama’s reelection, the emerging operation “Let’s Stay Together” is the endeavor to bring back all the voters especially Democrats and Independent together in the fold once again, as President Obama did in 2008. Just go and review his State of the Union address, his big smile, wits and charisma are all back again. Everything was coming into place, David Axelrod is charge of the campaign and the former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is back on the Obama payroll as a ‘roving surrogate and strategic consultant’ for the reelection campaign.

The first task of the campaign is to get people to start believing again and to believe against all odds. One great thing going for President Obama is the level of trust American people has for him in spite of the economic problems. They know that he is working hard day and night to improve the economy. Another thing is that they know he did not cause the problem, they maybe little impatience but they know that he cares for all Americans. When he became president the economy was losing jobs and there was hardly any GDP growth but now the affirmative changes are becoming apparent.

President Obama has done so much to fix the economy, although the economic problems persisted but the downturn have ceased. When we reflect on his accomplishments, he has stood up for the American people and turned the economy around with affirmative policies. The current economic outlook, growth and jobs maybe slow but it is steady. When he came into his presidency the economy was losing thousands of jobs but since his presidency millions of jobs have been added to the private sector, auto industry was bailed out and it is registering big profit, health care for all was passed and Iraq war has been successfully ended. His foreign policy can be describe in one word – impeccable and he reminded us in State of the Union address that Osama bin laden is no longer here, he managed Arab spring skillfully and has given Iran the most restrictive sanction ever.

Rasmussen recent polling reported by Forbes stated that “Obama beats former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by four points and Newt Gingrich by 10 points, firming a comment made by former senator Bob Dole this week that if Gingrich is chosen to be the party’s presidential candidate then an Obama re-election is assured. Obama also beats Texas congressman Ron Paul by 10 points and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by 8 points, according to Rasmussen. Obama beats Gingrich, Santorum and Paul in at least six polls taken during the Primary season, including those conducted by conservative Fox News. Only Romney comes marginally close to beating Obama in two polls conducted early this month by CNN/Opinion Research and ABC News/Washington Post. Both have Romney beating the president by no more than two points.”

Obama’s people can see the Rasmussen polls as encouraging despite the state of the economy and without a Republican presidential nominee that has not been visited with barrage of adverts and criticism. President Obama should also make sure that he did not invite extra burden by self inflicting which can be avoided. For example he did not need to isolate and alienate religious voters with his healthcare policy on contraceptives. If President Obama can keep and sustain the strategy of “Let’s Stay Together,” comes January 2013 he will be sitting in the oval office.

Emeka Chiakwelu is the Principal Policy Strategist at Afripol Organization. Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center (Afripol) is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa. http://afripol.org.   strategist@afripol.org