Politics
Anticipating Obama’s re-election game plan
So Obama has some latitude to make decisions that will anger interest groups that support him, especially if he mixes in other moves in their favor.
Such as the case this month when the White House announced plans to use foreign aid to promote gay rights abroad.
It was a relatively narrow step on gay rights, and one without great resonance domestically. What gay rights activists would really like Obama to do is endorse gay marriage, a step that seems unlikely before the election.
But Obama’s done enough other things, such as repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, that he’s likely to maintain strong support from gay activists even without taking the final step on gay marriage that could hand ammunition to his GOP critics.
With the 2012 election approaching some analysts said it was hard to avoid viewing Obama’s decisions through the lens of politics.
“He has no primary challenger and he’s in full re-election mode, so he’s triangulating, as Bill Clinton would say,” said Paul Light, professor of public policy at New York University, using the term for Clinton’s strategy of splitting Republican and Democratic differences.
“And that means quashing some major regulations and maneuvering toward the center on a host of issues, and he’s perfectly willing to alienate core constituencies like the environmental movement,” Light said.
Copyright 2011. The Associated Press
