President Obama is in full campaign mode and unlikely to heed a hometown call to drop out of the 2012 race. But the column by the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Chapman is drawing others’ attention. The reasons to take a pass are getting to be compelling, as Chapman notes: “The sputtering economy is about to stall out, unemployment is high, his jobs program may not pass, foreclosures are rampant and the poor guy can’t even sneak a cigarette. His approval rating is at its lowest level ever. His party just lost two House elections — one in a district it had held for 88 consecutive years. He’s staked his future on the jobs bill, which most Americans don’t think would work.” Noting that presidents’ second terms are “a bog of frustration, exhaustion and embarrassment” historically, Chapman wonders: “Why not leave of his own volition instead of waiting to get the ax?” Chapman’s idea for someone to run in his place: Hillary Clinton. “Her husband presided over a boom, she’s been busy deposing dictators instead of destroying jobs, and she’s never been accused of being a pushover,” he writes.
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