The 2012 campaign is already underway as Republicans jockey to place themselves in position to beat an incumbent who looks fairly weak right now and as Obama starts to put back together his campaign organization (Press secretary Robert Gibbs left the White House in mid-February to move back to Chicago and work on the organization that is for now headquartered there). At present it appears that no Democrat will challenge him for the nomination, so the real problem for him is to worry about the general election, though he must worry a little about staying in the news while Republicans battle it out in the winter of 2012.

Pretend that President Obama he has brought you in as an outside advisor to assess how he can maximize his chances of getting re-elected. In particular, he wants advice in two areas: 1) dealing with Congress (especially on the economy and the budget), 2) foreign and defense policy (especially the two wars that linger on and avoiding making disasters of the instability that is sweeping the Middle East).  Draft a memo on what he should do and not do in these areas in light of the paradoxes that all presidents face and the lessons from history in dealing with Congress, from history on presidents and wars, and of course from the history of what enables presidents to get re-elected. 

I know that this is a tough assignment for some of you who are Republicans, but I have asked Democrats in previous classes to offer advice to President Bush. In addition, you may remember that presidents do occasionally bring in advisors from the other party, as did President Clinton. In fact, some of the best advice comes from those who do not like you so much rather than those who like you too much. Just in case some of you are tempted, let me warn that asking Obama to abandon his party ID and become a Republican and embrace all Republican proposals is not a sufficient answer! :)