Democrats, Barack Obama Re-election | featured news

The 2008 election was a reminder of the demographic forces that are changing America and potentially the political balance in the country. The most diverse electorate in the nation’s history added to the favorable winds that pushed President Obama to victory. He will need the assistance of those shifts even more in 2012 if he is to avoid defeat.

He shouldn't have to concede any states for lack of money – and he already has raised more than his Republican rivals combined. His approval ratings are down and the economic recovery is sputtering. But President Obama brings to the 2012 campaign one strategic advantage that previous Democratic presidential candidates would have envied: the money to compete everywhere.

There’s no question that President Obama faces one of the most challenging political environments in modern memory as he prepares to try to win a second term next November.

President Obama faces the voters a year from today, and right now he has reasons to be both concerned and confident. On the downside, there's an unemployment rate of 9% and approval ratings stuck in the 40s; on the other hand, Obama leads all the Republican challengers in most polling. Approval ratings in the 40s are a problem for any president seeking re-election.

President Barack Obama's fortunes are improving slightly, although he would face a tough struggle for re-election next year if Mitt Romney were the Republican nominee, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Friday.

Vice President Joe Biden left open the possibility on Sunday that he might run for the White House in 2016. Biden told CNN that his focus is on helping President Barack Obama get re-elected in 2012 but when pressed on the possibility of his own future run, he replied, "I'm not closing anything."