Will The Arab Fall Be President Obama’s “Carter Moment”? – 3 Historical Similarities
The Middle East and Africa are in turmoil right now after the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya. After the Arab Spring that caused changes in leadership throughout the region, the consequences of ‘democracy’ are now coming home to roost. The problems in the region are occurring in the Fall of an election year which will
Will The Arab Fall Be President Obama’s “Carter Moment”? – 3 Historical Similarities
The Middle East and Africa are in turmoil right now after the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya. After the Arab Spring that caused changes in leadership throughout the region, the consequences of ‘democracy’ are now coming home to roost. The problems in the region are occurring in the Fall of an election year which will undoubtedly have an impact on both campaigns. Some of the recent chaos was sparked by an insensitive, low budget movie from a person who has Israeli and U.S. citizenship that mocked the Islam religion in an exceptionally tasteless way. The Obama administration has been focused on Romney’s response to the U.S. Embassy tweet about the situation but as the chaos in the streets drags on and engulfs more of the region, this pales in comparison to the true problem at hand.
For President Obama, the unrest in the region is a distraction and may have negative consequences for his chances of reelection. The perception that President Obama is a weak leader or that the U.S. isn’t as militarily strong as is it could be, may be used by Mitt Romney to consolidate his base against the president. There are a few eerie similarities between President Obama’s tenure and President Carter’s. Here are the top 3:
- slow economic growth – high jobless rate
- high gas prices
- unrest in the Middle East/Africa
It will be hard for President Obama to attend fundraisers and appear to be partying with Jay-Z and Beyonce when the world is experiencing tumultuous repercussions from the Arab Spring along with the apparent power vacuum. Mitt Romney hasn’t taken full advantage of the opportunity and although this isn’t necessarily a problem President Obama can easily solve (or caused), Romney could make some headway in the polls if Americans feel the situation abroad is problematic. The slow economic recovery that caused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to implement another round of quantitative easing could be another reason for Mitt Romney to push the issue along with the Egan-Jones downgrade.
We don’t see the new Fall 2012 crisis in the region getting any better soon and like the ‘fiscal cliff’ – it may be an issue that President Obama may mistakenly steer clear from. The problem isn’t new so it may be one that the President will allow a bit more time to develop before pursuing a new strategy but as the election nears – this can’t help his chances although it may not endear voters to Mitt Romney necessarily.
have an impact on both campaigns. Some of the recent chaos was sparked by an insensitive, low budget movie from a person who has Israeli and U.S. citizenship that mocked the Islam religion in an exceptionally tasteless way. The Obama administration has been focused on Romney’s response to the U.S. Embassy tweet about the situation but as the chaos in the streets drags on and engulfs more of the region, this pales in comparison to the true problem at hand.
For President Obama, the unrest in the region is a distraction and may have negative consequences for his chances of reelection. The perception that President Obama is a weak leader or that the U.S. isn’t as militarily strong as is it could be, may be used by Mitt Romney to consolidate his base against the president. There are a few eery similarities between President Obama’s tenure and President Carter’s. Here are the top 3:
- a staggering economy- slow economic growth
- high gas prices
- unrest in the Middle East/Africa
It will be hard for President Obama to attend fundraisers and appear to be partying with Jay-Z and Beyonce when the world is experiencing tumultuous repercussions from the Arab Spring along with the apparent power vacuum. Mitt Romney hasn’t taken full advantage of the opportunity and although this isn’t necessarily a problem President Obama can easily solve (or caused), Romney could make some headway in the polls if Americans feel the situation abroad is problematic. The slow economic recovery that caused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to implement another round of quantitative easing could be another reason for Mitt Romney to push the issue along with the Egan-Jones downgrade.
We don’t see the new Fall 2012 crisis in the region getting any better soon and like the ‘fiscal cliff’ – it may be an issue that President Obama may mistakenly steer clear from. The problem isn’t new so it may be one that the President will allow a bit more time to develop before pursuing a new strategy but as the election nears – this can’t help his chances although it may not endear voters to Mitt Romney necessarily.
