Two of the Democratic Party's most well-known progressives — Howard Dean and Russ Feingold — have both indicated that they won't take on Obama, and there are few others who have the stature and willingness to mount a credible campaign against the president. Top leaders of the institutional left say they don't want a 2012 intra-party civil war. And as disillusioned as some in Obama's base may be in the wake of his tax deal making with Republicans — and the frustration does seem to be at a high watermark — an array of Democrats said it is unlikely the president would face a challenge from within his own party.
"At moments of frustration or in an attempt to leverage a policy agenda, it is becoming a regular attention grabber to raise the specter of a primary challenge," said former Service Employees Internation Union President Andy Stern. "In the case of President Obama, it deserves to be idle chatter." (see: For White House, upside in fight with Hill Democrats)
Stern, now a fellow at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute, added that, "
record, the lack of any viable alternative, and those who appropriately desire a more inclusive process make a primary challenge a bad idea."
AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, a powerful figure in Democratic politics, also dismissed a prospect that has gained some traction in recent days on cable talkfests and in the blogosphere.
"Look, we don't agree on everything, but President Obama has produced for working Americans," McEntee said. "Health care, banking reform, making college more affordable, keeping us out of another Great Depression, protecting vital public services — those are no small achievements. The only people I hear talking about a primary challenge are the Wall Street shills on Fox News."
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who has been an outspoken critic of the White House on health care and more recently the tax debate, was even more to the point. (See: Liberal Dems to Obama: Fight harder)
"No primary," Weiner wrote in an e-mail.
Jim Dean, Howard Dean's brother and the head of the liberal Democracy for America, said a primary "would be a stretch."
"The reality is I don't see people stepping up to the plate," Dean said. "It would be a very, very tough slog for anybody." (See: In 2012, could Dean beat Obama?)
That's in large part because Obama enjoys overwhelming and unwavering support among African-Americans, a pillar of the Democratic coalition.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last month found that 90 percent of blacks approved of Obama's performance while just 6 percent said they disapproved.
"You just start out with the fact of the matter that in a Democratic primary the African-American vote is enormous, and so unless you could somehow split that one group away from him — which I doubt anybody can do — you can't possibly even put a dent in his candidacy," said longtime Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, Dean's top strategist in 2004 and a leader in the insurgent wing of the party.
But it's not just African-Americans. As NBC's Domenico Montanaro noted, the same survey showed that the president also continues to enjoy solid approval numbers among Hispanics, young voters, those with post-graduate degrees and self-described liberals.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46176.html#ixzz17d2d7ofd
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