Can Obama really be that delusional?
In a speech Tuesday to the African Union, on his tour of Africa, Obama touted his accomplishments in front of African leaders–and announced that, were he able to run again, he would probably win.
His comments came while he was warning African leaders about overstaying their term limits–which Obama rightly believes flies in the face of democracy and causes instability in African nations.
“I am in my second term,” he told the crowd. “It has been an extraordinary privilege for me to serve as President of the United States. I cannot imagine a greater honor or a more interesting job…”
Obama continued, pointing out that no matter what he thinks about how many terms he could (apparently) keep winning, the law doesn’t allow it: “But under our Constitution, I cannot run again. I actually think I’m a pretty good President–I think if I ran I could win.”
He added, “So there’s a lot that I’d like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law.”
Barack Obama’s approval rating is currently at 41%, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. 52% of Americans currently disapprove of the job he’s doing.
Even if Obama were allowed to run for a third term, it’s highly unlikely that his numbers would allow him to cruise to victory. His approval rating hasn’t gone above 50% since April 2013, just a few months after his re-election.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, a third Obama term might actually have been their best bet: Hillary Clinton, essentially the only realistic Democratic nominee after two disastrous midterms gutted Democrats in Congress and in statehouses nationwide, has seen her own approval rating plunge more than 20 points in the last few years.