“This is the “X” factor, for sure. I remember clear as day telling myself, and anyone who would listen, how impossible it would be for Obama to get re-elected in 2012 (I think I even had the same sure-fire belief in 2008!)”
Well the only problem was the Republicans who ran against Obama (McCain/Romney) and the fact that in 2008 the economy was going into the toilet.
Whether talking about the large numbers who voted for Obama or all the voters who opted out because of the weakness of Romney (and, thus, failed to grasp the full import of a second Obama term), the “intelligence” of the American electorate was on full display.