[TheRealThing]

Get back with me in about a year and a half after I see how Obama does and I may take that bet. Like I said either party is only as strong as the last person to hold that office. I think it is safe to say that the country and even other dem's are turning their backs on Obama at this point if you look at how his popularity numbers are going and how his own party had to act like they were nothing like him to get elected....................now that I think about it it reminds me a lot of Bush Jr's last few years. People were so sick of him that they voted for Obama, a man they knew nothing about because he acted like he was going to change the world. I think the one thing you and a lot of people are overlooking is the fact that a lot of people who have in the past voted REP, and also a lot of Independents voted for Obama because they truly thought he was going to be something fresh and different, but boy was he ever different and not in a good way. Most of the people who vote in this country don't live and breathe politics and all they know about a President is what they hear other people say and things they see on tv here and there. If the last President is unpopular and has a lot of negativity surrounding him then those voters are way more likely to vote red in 2016. People should follow this stuff way more then they do and if they did Obama IMO never get's elected the 1st time, but people are busy with life but those voters are what you would call casual voters and I would say they make up a big percentage of the vote each year. If you think for one second that the Dem's who plan to run for 2016 arent worried about what just happened then your kidding yourself. They need the states that they just lost, they need those Senators and Governor's to help campaign. You were giving stats on President's 6th years, but I would love to know what the stats are, on if after a president of one party goes out, what the statistics are of the next party gaining the Presidency especially after a 2 term President.

Very good observation^^. If nothing else this administration has force fed Americans a sorely needed civics lesson. Like you say most get their political news and insights in a very casual manner. I believe this is because up until now, there has been no real reason to worry all that much. Our system of checks and balances has served us well, and the preponderance of politicians were trustworthy enough to reign in the bozos that may have found their way into office. But then comes a guy who promises change and most people thought that meant good change. In a state of naïve blind trust, the American voter was very much taken by surprise.

America was intended to be a nation populated by a free and self governing people. We do need to be more involved in order to do that. Legislation such as ObamaCare, which will take up to at least one sixth of our yearly economy, shouldn't be passed in the middle of the night by men who admit they didn't even read the language. We just have to be smarter than that. So, in order to be smarter one must rise above casual means to really be aware on an individual level. Nor can he take the word of only one party, especially when they use so much energy slamming the other one. And in even more dramatic terms, when a future Presidential candidate comes in promising change, we'd better darn sure find out what that change is or we may be voting to triple (or worse) our health insurance costs.