Does the Debt Deal help or hurt Obama in 2012?

[Torie]

Hurt. He seemed AWOL to swing voters to a degree that hurts him, in a way that may have legs.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

This whole mess obviously hurts him. Of course relative to having the nation default, it helps him.

[Lief 🗽]

Guys, look. The left is going to vote for Obama in 2008, because the alternative is Tea Party fascism and the debilitating economic crisis that will ensue when a GOP trifecta massively cuts taxes and spending immediately upon coming into office. Look at the GOP candidates; all but one of them would have voted against this bill! All but one of them would have voted for the country to default and enter a second, deeper recession! You think lefties are going to think there's no difference between Obama and these nutters?

[Lincoln Republican]

However the debt deal plays out, the wealthiest Americans should have been slapped with a hefty tax increase.

[Mr. Morden]

No one is going to remember this in a year.  Whether it's "good" or "bad" for him depends on how you think it would have played out in the alternative scenario where the debt ceiling wasn't raised.

Most voters just don't pay that much attention to these day-to-day political battles.  They have only a vague sense of what the debt debate is about, and will not remember what they currently know about it by next week.  The idea that left-leaning bloggers who follow this stuff religiously and are upset about this are actually representative of the much larger Democratic base vote is silly.  We've had these predictions of the Dem. base abandoning Obama over the dropping of the individual mandate and over the extension of the Bush tax cuts for two years.  There might be a short term blip in the polls over stuff like that, but it never lasts.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Hurt. He seemed AWOL to swing voters to a degree that hurts him, in a way that may have legs.

^^^^^^^^

once again, Obama showed that he's too aloof and condescending, and the only time he is personal is when he is apologizing for America's greatness.  The exact opposite of Reagan's personality.

[Penelope]

Anything that saved the world economy will help the President.

But no one will really remember this by the time Barack Obama has a named Republican to go up against.

[Paul Kemp]

No one is going to remember this in a year.  Whether it's "good" or "bad" for him depends on how you think it would have played out in the alternative scenario where the debt ceiling wasn't raised.

Most voters just don't pay that much attention to these day-to-day political battles.  They have only a vague sense of what the debt debate is about, and will not remember what they currently know about it by next week.  The idea that left-leaning bloggers who follow this stuff religiously and are upset about this are actually representative of the much larger Democratic base vote is silly.  We've had these predictions of the Dem. base abandoning Obama over the dropping of the individual mandate and over the extension of the Bush tax cuts for two years.  There might be a short term blip in the polls over stuff like that, but it never lasts.

Thank you.

[TheGlobalizer]

Nuff said:

[Ogre Mage]

Hurt as the entire process played out in a very dysfunctional manner and his approval ratings have slipped.  I do not think it is a coincidence. 

That said, the House GOP also sustained political damage in this process.  They are calcuating that Obama was hurt worse, but I am not sure that is the case.

[GLPman]

For those of you who answered "help," could you explain your reasoning?

[milhouse24]

Its too difficult to say in the long run, a year from now, because it will depend on the economy.

But in the short run, meaning the next 1-3 months, it will hurt Obama because of the economic uncertainty over the past few weeks, and his general lack of "Leadership" over the Debt issue.  He did look weak, but then again he might have look worse if he was too aggressive.  I think he is just counting on the GOP Congress, Boehner, or Cantor to look like the Big Bad Wolf. 

I would say Cantor is the biggest "Evil" target because Boehner has been more compromising.  Cantor is thinking about running for Senate or president some day.  Cantor has to be careful because he doesn't want to look like "newt/dole" in 95.  Nobody wants the stigma of looking old and foolish for the rest of their lives. 

Obama does look weak because there was literally nothing he could do against a hostile GOP congress. 

[California8429]

Hurt slightly. He gained nothing from the right, not really independents either and dems hate it.

If this was a republican presidency this would hurt as well.

[rwoy]

Hurt.

The guy whose DoD "got" Bin Laden was made to look like the biggest idiot whimp in Washington.

Seriously ... from a guy who has voted Dem his entire, and listened to dozens of Obama Kool-Aid drinkers tell me how he was going to reform Washington ..... Obama can go f*** himself.