(Image source: The Huffington Post)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN



MICHELLE OBAMA: “Can we do this? Yes, we can! Can we do this? ... This is a serious moment for our country. There is so much at stake.” (Video from WRC)


Campaigning together for the first time since the 2008 election, President Obama and the First Lady are seeking to rekindle the Democratic enthusiasm that carried him to office two years ago.


On DC’s WRC, Tracie Potts talks strategy -- saying the president’s party has reason to worry.

TRACIE POTTS: “Republicans riding the wave of economic uncertainty. Democrats trying to recapture the spirit and success of ‘08. But a new Associated Press poll shows a quarter of those who voted for Obama two years ago planned to vote Republican this time.”


That poll - released just two weeks before crucial midterm elections - suggests Democrats face an enthusiasm gap that favors Republicans.

In an opinion piece for Politico, Doug Usher suggests Republicans are even better off now than they were in 1994 -- when they took back the House in the middle of President Clinton’s first term. He says it’ll worse this time around. Here’s why.

In 1994, the unemployment rate stood at 6 percent. In 2010 - 9.6 percent.
In 1994, more than 3 million jobs were created. In 2010 -- a little more than 600,000.

But on CSPAN, a senior fellow for the Center for American Progress says despite the grim numbers, Democrats stand a chance -- IF they focus on narrowing the gap between registered and likely voters.

RUY TEIXEIRA: “Make the LVs more like the Rvs, to use the jargon. So the Democrats want to nudge that electorate more toward what’s captured by registered voters, which means they would be more minority and more younger and less conservative and so on. And in turn it means turnout efforts are pretty critical. ... It is not at all clear that the outcome is going be as grim for the democrats at least some polls suggest today.”

And columnist Sophia Nelson agrees -- kind of. She tells MSNBC with Michelle Obama on the campaign trail-- President Obama just might recapture the energy of the 2008 campaign. Just the energy, though -- not all his party’s seats.

CHRIS JANSING: “What is it about her that when she walked out on to the stage with Barack Obama, a lot of people got the impression, including hardened journalists, all of a sudden he seemed more likable?”
NELSON: “Right. Women -- women soften men. ... She's their secret weapon, and i agree with that. Can she save the democrats from disaster? No, she cannot. That's a done deal. I think the Republicans will take the majority, it's a matter of how much. She's going to energize the base, get women excited, get minorities excited and I think she has a positive impact.”

So can President Obama recapture the energy of ‘08? Or has too much changed?

 

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