Obama: Is a comeback in 2014 possible?

last updated 8 January 2015

Call me crazy, but 2014 “could be President Obama’s best year,” said Dean Obeidallah in TheDailyBeast.com. True, he has much to overcome; badly wounded by the botched Obamacare launch, Obama has seen his disapproval ratings rise to 54 percent—his worst ever. But the president “has a lot to be optimistic about.” The economic recovery shows every sign of picking up speed: The unemployment rate, at 7 percent, is at its lowest during his administration, and GDP growth is surprisingly strong. Obama will soon launch a new offensive on both immigration reform and an increase in the minimum wage—both of which have broad public support. Meanwhile, Obamacare’s technical problems are over, and as Americans see evidence it’s making people’s lives better, public support for the program and the president will rise. Combine that with a “badly splintered” Republican Party that is offering nothing but stubborn opposition, and 2014 could be a comeback year for the president.

You’ve got to be kidding, said Neil Munro in DailyCaller.com. Obama enters the New Year with his credibility fatally damaged by Obamacare, which will continue to hurt more Americans than it will help. His campaign against “economic inequality” is nothing but hot air, and his foreign policy “doesn’t bear mentioning,” since he was roundly outplayed on Syria by Russian President Vladimir Putin and duped into a flawed Iran nuclear deal. “Better still, Obamacare has legs,” said Fred Barnes in WeeklyStandard.com. In 2014, millions will discover that their premiums have increased and their favorite doctors are no longer covered—problems bound to increase Obama’s unpopularity, and give Republicans control of the Senate and the House after the midterm elections. Liberals need to face facts: Obama’s “prospects for recovery are poor.”

In politics, though, the pendulum almost always swings back, said Jeff Shesol in NewYorker.com. Obama is beginning to “show a clarity of purpose that was too often lacking during his first term,” and plans to take the fight to Republicans on immigration, food stamps, and “economic fairness.” Republicans will probably take the bait, said Doyle McManus in LATimes.com, producing another “high-decibel collision, not bipartisan harmony.” More gridlock will only create deeper public disgust with both parties. Still, at least Obama has one bittersweet asset on his side: “Expectations for 2014 are low.”