Obama's Next Worry: A Restive Left Flank

Every president who lost re-election in the last half-century has first been weakened by a primary fight.

(By JOHN FUND, The Wall Street Journal) - Voter discontent this year isn't confined to the tea party. A new AP poll reports that 51% of Americans now think President Obama doesn't deserve re-election. More surprising, 47% of Democrats believe he should face a challenge for the party's nomination in 2012. No doubt many Democrats who hold this view are disappointed supporters of Hillary Clinton.

In reality, Mr. Obama doesn't have to worry too much about renomination. There are no signs that Mrs. Clinton would resign as secretary of state and challenge her boss. African-Americans, the president's strongest group of supporters, make up 30% of any Democratic primary electorate and provide him with a firewall against any opponent. And presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton have rebounded after midterm defeats as the economy improved.

Still, a primary challenge, even if waged by a less-significant contestant, is a serious matter. Every president who lost re-election in the last half century has first been weakened by a primary fight—Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush being cases in point. Many of the three million voters Pat Buchanan attracted in 1992 against Mr. Bush, for example, wound up voting for Ross Perot in November. This allowed Bill Clinton to win with just 43% of the popular vote.