Well now … let’s commence the most meaningless political discussion possible, shall we?
Who would have won if Barack H. Obama had been the candidate opposing Donald J. Trump in this year’s presidential election.
The president of the United States says he’d win. The president-elect — big surprise here — disagrees.
The meaninglessness lies in the indisputable fact that we’ll never know the answer. The U.S. Constitution bars the president from seeking a third term, thanks to its 22nd Amendment.
But as long as the president has introduced this silly argument, I’d like to carry it a bit further.
I believe he would have won. Why? He’s got a ton of political moxie. He would have surrounded himself with he best political strategists possible. He would not have taken anything or any voter group for granted. Obama would not have “played it safe,” as he said Hillary Clinton did. He would have made mincemeat of Trump in any number of televised joint appearances.
There. That’s my view.
However, it’s only my speculation, just as it is anyone’s speculation — including Barack Obama himself — about how an Obama-Trump contest would have ended.
Here, though, is a bit of reality to toss into the mix.
Consider the context of the 2012 presidential election. Obama’s presidency was considered by many experts to be on the ropes as he prepared to run against the Republican nominee, who turned out to be Mitt Romney, another formidable and successful businessman — who also had political experience as a one-term governor of Massachusetts.
The economy wasn’t performing all that well. The Affordable Care Act was being vilified as a failure. The Republicans saw a huge opening for their nominee as the campaign commenced.
Oh, but what happened? Obama used his crack political team to target selected audiences in various regions of the country and hammered Romney relentlessly over comments the GOP rival had made. Recall the “47 percent” gaffe.
Obama ended up winning the election by a comfortable margin: 5 million ballots and 332-206 Electoral College votes.
Would he have defeated Trump? I believe so.
However, it’s a silly debate to have.
President Obama is leaving office in less than a month. Donald J. Trump is the man of the hour.