Removing The Tumor

In 1976, Ronald Reagan challenged Gerald Ford in the GOP primary. He failed in his endeavor and then watched Jimmy Carter win the presidency in November. As an aside, this election has a lot of parallels to the nascent Tea Party nominating idealogues at the risk of hurting the GOP establishment. But let's put that aside for now.

In 1980, Ted Kennedy ran against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter in the Democratic Primary. He lost and Carter lost to Reagan in November. For all the chatter about the Reagan Revolution, I doubt if he could have done it without Teddy (and John Anderson also deserves an assist from the official scorer.) Another aside. Teddy's motives will never make sense to me. He could have had the nomination in 1976 but he refused to run and Carter filled the void. He refused to shake Carter's hand at the inauguration and he succeeded in turning the press against Carter. If the real story of this real rivalry has ever surfaced, I am not aware of it. But that's an aside.

In 1992 a blowhard by the name of Pat Buchanan challenged George H. W. Bush (#41) and lost the election. Bush would then lose in November. Yes, Ross Perot might have won the election for Bill Clinton and there are a lot of "what ifs," but it is safe to say that Buchanan did not help Bush.

In the past thirty years, there have been 3 serious intra-party challenges to a sitting president. Each time, the results were the same: The challenger lost in the spring or summer and the incumbent lost in the fall.

Power brokers are generally smart people. They might now recognize that Obama is a tumor on the brain of the Democratic Party and the special interests who ride in the draft but they also recognize the complications involved in removing the tumor. It is a delicate procedure.

There might be an electoral challenge to Obama in the primaries but who could beat him? The most logical choice would Hillary but she is a member of the Obama Administration. She has been called a carpetbagger before and I don't think she wants to wear that dress again.

Evan Bayh wants to be president but he has voted in lock step with Obama. What would his slogan be? "Just like him but better?" Andrew Cuomo and Jerry Brown would be formidable rivals but their respective states demand too much attention at the moment. Does anyone have Dick Gephardt's number?

And of course, whoever gets the nomination will probably face a hornet's nest electorate that will make the 2010 voters seem friendly. It just is not an attractive offer. But in the corridors of power the scalpels (figurative at this point) are being sharpened. Plans are being made. What plans?

If one wishes to remove the tumor, it would be wise to do so sooner rather than later. If the Dems give up the White House, it could be a long time before they regain it. 8 years? 12 years? Possibly longer! The stakes are high. An entire generation of Democratic leaders are in peril. This is not an exaggeration. If the tumor is removed in the coming weeks, there will still be time for recuperation and perhaps a little reconstructive surgery. The White House might be salvaged.

But just how does one remove a sitting president? Delicately. Very delicately. Obama is the most secretive president in US History. (OK, we'll put aside the mysterious Abe Lincoln and his imprecise birthplace and his non-existent law school records. Obama is the most mysterious president since Abe Lincoln! How's that?) Obama is also a narcissist. Part of him would love to reveal his records for all to see so the world could further marvel at his unending brilliance. If only...Rest assured, he is secretive for good reason.

Powerful people will probably ask Obama to step aside. Even then, a cover story would be needed. Presidents don't just pack up and leave. Unh unh. A president has to be forced out of office either by scandal, election or term limits. An undisclosed health problem that he was justified in keeping private from the goons in the press? Complications from smoking? Dignity is left intact and a crusade (oops. A man-made contingency correction) is launched. The Misocapnist Poster Child! Give that man a Nobel Prize!

But is anyone betting against surgical complications? Obama and Axelrod will probably not go quietly into that good night. If the power brokers are forced to pry Obama out of his seat, they will do so with the crowbar of scandal. Once more, delicacy is required. The scandal has to be newly-discovered. Wink. Wink. Nod. Nod.

The mainstream media are losing credibility by the heartbeat. They cannot afford to be perceived as covering up a scandal for their favorite pet. All the king's horses and all the king's men will have a hard time reconstructing the yolk and shell of the fourth estate if they knowingly spiked a damaging story.

If Obama is on the top of the ticket in 2012, the Democrats might lose another 60 House seats, The Senate and the White House. Obama promised us hope and change. He might soon deliver on those promises.