Does Barack Obama want to be re-elected in 2012?

Jillian Bandes | August 23, 2010 7:52 AM

It's an intriguing headline from The Telegraph, though I don't think it holds much water. Obama has already made campaign rounds in Ohio, Washington State, Wisconsin, California, Florida and other key 2012 battleground states, amping up support for candidates who will pay that support back later on. Then there's his gigantic fundraising machine, which has gone into overdrive for these candidates and doesn't show any sign of slowing the cash flow into his own personal coffers. Then there's the question of who the Democratic Party would run if not The One.

Still — reading through this piece is kind of a fun way to think about Obama's tics and decisions, especially as of late:

Almost everything Obama does these days suggests that he doesn't care much about being re-elected. Strange as it might seem, perhaps he wants to be a one-term president.

...His presidential bid had been based on the power of his life story and his ability with the spoken word. Doubtless he was as surprised as anyone else that he pulled it off. Governing has been altogether more difficult for him and there are signs he is already tiring of it.