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Home > Politics & Policy > Ken Walsh's Washington > Axelrod Predicts 'Titanic Struggle' for Obama 2012 Re-election September 28, 2011 Print
David Axelrod, President Obama's chief strategist, made some waves yesterday when he predicted a "Titanic struggle" to get Obama re-elected in 2012.
"We have the wind in our face because the American people have the wind in their faces," Axelrod told business and political leaders in New Hampshire. "So this is going to be a Titanic struggle. But I firmly believe we're on the right side of the struggle."
Axelrod predicted an Obama victory because the Republican candidates for president are advocating the same policies that led to recession, such as cutting taxes for the rich and for big corporations. "This isn't new wine and old bottles," Axelrod said. "This is old wine and old bottles."
[Check out political cartoons about President Obama.]
The Obama strategist also told the Associated Press in an interview that Texas Gov. Rick Perry doesn't have the sterling record of leadership in Texas that he proclaims. Texas has low wages and many underperforming schools, Axelrod said, adding, "I think most Americans will look at that and say, 'Why would we want to emulate that?' "
Political analysts suspect that Axelrod was so openly predicting a huge battle for Obama at least partly to energize the Democratic base. Some of Obama's supporters from 2008 have found fault with his policies, including his compromises with Republicans on deficit-reduction measures and other issues. Democratic strategists say Obama's team needs to mobilize his core supporters by drawing stark contrasts and warning about the possibility of defeat, which is what Axelrod did in New Hampshire.
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