US Politics Analysis: Obama Brings Out His "Fair Share" Campaign (and Why It's Important)

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On Tuesday afternoon, at an Associated Press luncheon in Washington, President Obama criticised the Republican budget, passed on a party line vote 228-191 in the House of Representatives last week. Doing so, the President outlined the basic message of his re-election campaign, contrasting his "fair share" economic plan for America's future with the radical Social Darwinist politics of the GOP.

Every Presidential campaign yearns to find a short and catchy phrase that captures the appeal of its candidate. Obama's "Hope and Change" from 2008 is the most recent example, but "I Like Ike" was credited by some Robert Taft supporters in 1952 for delivering the Republican nomination to his rival Dwight Eisenhower, and well before that, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", was turned into a song that was “in the political canvas of 1840 what the 'Marseillaise' was to the French Revolution. It sang [William Henry] Harrison into the Presidency.”

That brings us to Obama and a "Fair Share".

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US Campaign 2012: Minnesota Nice, Minnesota Not-So-Nice

Michele Bachmann & Tim PawlentyWhile Pawlenty and Bachmann have some ideas in common, but I ask myself, "What would America look like two years into a Bachmann presidency, as opposed to a Pawlenty administration? Will Bachmann have plunged America into more recession, will she have engaged in more wars, whilst becoming estranged from historic allies, and will the American middle class be propping up the wealthy again?"

All thse queries may pale, however, before the political reality that Pawlenty is unlikely to get the Republican nomination. He is "charisma lite" in a nation where voters seem to care as much for looks as for thoughts. If he could overcome this hurdle, he would make a worthy opponent for Obama.

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US Politics: Previewing Obama's "State of the Union" (and How the Republicans Will Try to Pre-Empt It)

It promises to be an interesting Tuesday with potential filibuster reform and an outside chance of Republicans forcing a repeal vote on the health care plan. But in the end it will be the power of the Presidency that draws the world's attention to Washington on Tuesday. With one of his most important weapons, President Obama has the chance to remind Americans, and an international audience, of the optimism that surrounded his election in 2008.

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