A sobering reality check about 2012 from Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times.

If the voting age were lowered to ten years old, Obama would win in a landslide.

Courtesy of News-Record.com:

Obama came into office with expectations that Superman couldn't have met. Many on the left believed what the right feared: that Obama was an old-fashioned liberal. But the president's cautious centrism soured the left without reassuring the right. 

Like many, I have disappointments with Obama. He badly underestimated the length of this economic crisis, and for a man with a spectacular gift at public speaking, he has been surprisingly inept at communicating. 

But as we approach an election year, it is important to acknowledge the larger context: Obama has done better than many critics on the left or the right give him credit for. 

He took office in the worst recession in more than half a century, amid fears of a complete economic implosion. As The Onion, the satirical news organization, described his election at the time: "Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job." 

The administration helped tug us back from the brink of economic ruin. Obama oversaw an economic stimulus that, while too small, was far larger than the one House Democrats had proposed. He rescued the auto industry and achieved health care reform that presidents have been seeking since the time of Theodore Roosevelt. 

Despite virulent opposition that has paralyzed the government, Obama bolstered regulation of the tobacco industry, signed a fair pay act and tightened control of the credit card industry. He has been superb on education, weaning the Democratic Party from blind support for teachers' unions while still trying to strengthen public schools. 

In foreign policy, Obama has taken a couple of huge risks. He approved the assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, and despite much criticism he led the international effort to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi. So far, both bets are paying off. 

Granted, the economic downturn overshadows all else, as happens in every presidency. Ronald Reagan, the Teflon president, saw his job approval rating sink to 35 percent in January 1983 because of economic troubles. A faltering economy sent the popularity of the first president Bush into a tailspin, tumbling to 29 percent in 1992. 

By comparison, Obama has about a 43 percent approval rating, according to Gallup. 

For a couple of years, the left has joined the right in making Obama a pinata. That's fair: It lets off steam, and it's how we keep politicians in line. 

But think back to 2000. Many Democrats and journalists alike, feeling grouchy, were dismissive of Al Gore and magnified his shortcomings. We forgot the context, prided ourselves on our disdainful superiority — and won eight years of George W. Bush. 

This time, let's do a better job of retaining perspective. If we turn Obama out of office a year from now, let's make sure it is because the Republican nominee is preferable, not just out of grumpiness toward the incumbent during a difficult time. 

I don't think there is too much that I can add to that.  And since it seems pretty obvious that Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee, I guess the only question for Americans to ask is; are they willing to stick with President Obama in 2012, or do they really believe that Mittens, who his own party can barely stand, is the better choice?

Go ahead and mull that one over for a little while, and then get back to me.

Or better yet, hold that thought until you get to the voting booth in  2012, and then vote like it was the most important vote you have ever cast. Because you know what? It just might be!