Norquist: Obama's Debt, Jobs Imperil His Re-election

Many political pundits already are touting President Barack Obama as a shoo-in for re-election. Not so fast, say Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and Tevi Troy, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

“President Obama was elected to fix the economy,” Norquist writes on Politico. “His policies have made unemployment worse. His spending has created debt and killed jobs. When the nation focused on this in November 2010, the Democrats lost across the board . . . This also happened to Bush in 2006. What followed was 2008.”

Voters will choose between a Republican who supports less spending and lower taxes or a president who supports big spending increases and even bigger tax hikes, Norquist writes. “The reasoning that Americans will vote to bankrupt their nation in response to the Navy SEALs killing a terrorist in Pakistan strikes me as unlikely.”

As for Troy, he writes that, “while incumbent presidents without a primary challenge have a leg up in running for re-election, President Obama has a number of key vulnerabilities.”

That includes the economy, healthcare and expanding government, Troy argues. “Obama already received one electoral rebuke in 2010. He may get another one in 2012.”