Why Obama should want a loss today

In fact, if Obama’s legacy matters at all to him and his supporters, he may want to hope for a loss on Tuesday. Because there’s no indication that a second term will be anything but disastrous for him.

There’s the immediate concerns — the fiscal cliff and sequestration, which will likely be difficult with a chastened GOP. But it’s actually the left that will make Obama’s winter lift an even heavier one. …

By defending Obama’s inaction and protecting his legacy, all his supporters are doing is jeopardizing it. The more cover he’s given, the less likely he is to take the kind of leadership stances he’ll need to to seriously address poverty, inequality, unemployment and stalled growth. These aren’t small issues, but small issues are where Obama’s preferred to live, choosing instead to tinker with short-term immigration solutions and roll back DOMA and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The success of his two biggest contributions — the stimulus and the Affordable Care Act — is ambiguous to say the least.

But the final reason Obama should be praying for a Romney win tomorrow, is that a scandal looms large on the horizon. Libya is not going away. In fact an Obama victory would ensure that House Republicans on the Oversight committee, like Darrell Issa and Jason Chaffetz, push even harder on the administration’s bungling of the Benghazi attack. The only way Obama escapes the brunt of upcoming investigations is if he loses, and Republicans refocus their lasers on the State Department.