It's never too early to think about 2012

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In case you were wondering, yes, Obama is still beating possible 2012 Republican opponents in the polls:

Almost a year after his election as President, Barack Obama continues to lead his most likely 2012 rivals in hypothetical contests for reelection.

Obama leads Mike Huckabee 47-43, Mitt Romney 48-40, Sarah Palin 52-40, and Tim Pawlenty 50-30.

And I just can't see Huckabee, popular flame of the far-right GOP base, doing that well in an actual election -- not with his inability to win moderates and independents (and not with how utterly insane and thoroughly extreme he is). Nor can I see Romney, who still faces an uphill battle in his ongoing efforts to (re)brand himself as a viable, reliable Republican with solidly conservative credentials (because he has no such credentials but merely a record of politically convenient flip-flopping), pulling it out. Pawlenty? Maybe, but he's hardly a match for Obama in terms of stature. Palin? Yeah, right.

Of course, it's way too early to call the election. Obama faces enormous challenges ahead, not to mention enormous opposition, and there's a lot that could go wrong for him. But it's hard to deny that the Republicans don't exactly seem to be posing much of a threat right now.