But that's exactly why he may very well consider not running...if his poll numbers are that bad and everyone hates him, his narcissism may not allow him to face a terrible defeat.
Too early to tell, but I think him stepping down is at least a possibility.
“.if his poll numbers are that bad and everyone hates him, his narcissism may not allow him to face a terrible defeat.”
I concur this is a possibility. He would need to frame it as being “ahead of his time” or having achieved “far more than expected given the nation’s racism.”
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Even though most of the nation detests it, Obamacare still is a signature achievement in the eyes of progressives: something that will embed itself into the social fabric so thoroughly (think Medicare) that it will be impossible to eradicate. True, he didn’t get them the public option, but that’s just another incremental step vastly easier to achieve once the Obamacare framework is in place. So he (thanks to Nancy and Harry) was able to pull off something that had eluded the grasp of many before him. With the critical importance of Obamacare to his legacy, now imagine SCOTUS declaring it unconstitutional in early 2012 [we still don’t know if they’ll take the case in the 2012-2013 term, but if they do, they will decide it sooner rather than later given the enormous fiscal consequences at stake: I don’t think they’ll wait until the end of the term to announce the decision].
I think such a decision could be the impetus for bailing out. If the individual mandate is rejected, progressives are going to say “see? If we’d pursued a single payer plan, that approach couldn’t have been declared unconstitutional (viz. Social Security). Thus, we’re only in this boat because we were trying to water down the bill to get Republican support. This would give Obama an “out” that it was the Republican’s fault for having “forced” him to sign a flawed bill. He would resign “for the good of the country” because (he would imply) the Republicans just couldn’t get along with a black president. So HE was willing to compromise to get things done, but the Republicans never were and never will be so long as there’s a black president. So since we can’t afford to wait to tackle our serious problems, it would be best for the nation if he stepped aside, yada, yada, yada. He’d retired and get paid $10 million to write his memoir Misunderstood, which would be plenty enough to bankroll Michelle’s shopping expeditions and trips to Martha’s Vineyward for decades.
Posted to a comment up the thread the same. I do believe defeat would destroy him so if he perceives he cannot win he will back out.