It's September 2011 – just 14 months before the next presidential election.
Barack Obama claims to be running for re-election – though he has stated on more than one occasion he could take it or leave it.
He's buried deep in the worst approval ratings of any modern president.
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There are at least a baker's dozen prominent Republicans lined up for the chance to challenge him.
His "leadership" led to a Republican revolution in the 2010 midterm elections – though the GOP leadership has squandered its opportunities to reverse Obama's policies.
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The recession plods on without a light at the end of the tunnel.
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We all know these things. But, with all of these facts on the table, my question is: "Has anyone seen an Obama 2012 bumper sticker yet?"
I know I haven't.
Not one.
And I'm hearing from others who have noticed the absence of enthusiasm among his supporters.
Now understand I live near Washington, D.C. – a place that can actually boast of many new jobs created by Obama. This is the one city that should be riding high under Obama. There's new construction everywhere. Government employees haven't lost jobs. They haven't had their pay cut. In fact, it's a boom time for this parasite of a city that sucks at the teat of the rest of the nation.
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If Obama acolytes are to be found anywhere outside the studios of MSNBC and the corridors of the Huffington Post, it would be right here.
Yet I can detect no visible grass-roots excitement about re-electing Obama.
Maybe I'm just missing it.
Have you seen it?
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I know Obama has raised a billion dollars for the campaign. If he has used any of that cash to print bumper stickers, however, they are not yet finding their way onto automobiles in the Washington area. And my friends and correspondents around the country say it is no different anywhere else.
What gives?
Are Obama supporters embarrassed about their candidate?
Are they waiting until next year to show their colors?
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Is it just possible Obama really might not be serious about seeking a second term?
Or maybe those bumper stickers are in the same vault with the birth certificate?
I don't know what to make of this. Maybe it's nothing. Perhaps we will be inundated with Obama campaign hoopla beginning any day now.
But I still think it's strange.
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Clearly the sizzle surrounding Obama in 2008 has subsided, if not disappeared. But even the floundering polls show a small percentage of Americans are still dyed-in-the-wool Obama Kool-Aid drinkers. Why aren't we seeing any evidence of them?
I still see the occasional Obama 2008 bumper sticker that has not been scratched off a vehicle in a fit of embarrassment.
Yet nary a single 2012 Obama plug in sight.
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You are as unlikely to see one as you are to spot an arctic warbler in Miami or an armadillo in Alaska.
Pretty strange, huh?
I'd like to know what you make of this mystery.
How many Obama 2012 bumper stickers have been printed? How many have been distributed? How many have actually been plastered on automobiles in the U.S.?
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If you spot one, I'd like you to send me a digital image.
I'm beginning to wonder if they exist at all.
Are they sitting in warehouses because no one is willing to risk ridicule for sporting them on their bumpers?
It's Labor Day. Campaign season is under way. I know Obama doesn't face opposition within his own party. But maybe his fellow Democrats ought to start considering their options. Are they willing to go down in flames with someone who isn't even sure if he wants a second term? Are they willing to concede 2012 without a fight?