Don't get me wrong; I'm not measuring the drapes or anything, but the President's reelection odds are looking a little better than even. As such, it doesn't hurt to jump back from the horse-race of the election and plan a little for the future. Since progressive change requires INTENSITY from motivated groups of voters, these are some things that Obama should do and some things that progressives should at least work towards getting on the national radar.
Firstly, the election will definitely be nasty as somewhere between $500M to $1 BILLION in corporate "speech" will be directed against our President via the activist Citizens' United decision. It doesn't really matter which badly-damaged candidate emerges from the Republican Primary since the smear campaign will be just the same. Expect a barrage of fact-free corporate propaganda and Culture War bunkum if you live in a competitive state or district.
I say BRING IT! The more the merrier! Let them waste their money and stimulate the economy a little. The economic downturn is being exacerbated by these billionaire types sitting on too much of their money after all. But after the dust settles, the stage should be set for election reform, or at least a debate about the role of corporate money in politics. This issue should be hammered home constantly by anybody who thinks corporations shouldn't run everything.
For a hypothetical 2nd Obama term, I'm hoping most people working in the White House have realized by now that the Republicans have ZERO interest in bi-partisan ANYTHING and the only thing they respond to is force. In response, the 2nd Term should be a series of build-ups to extremely popular progressive legislation such as repeal of tax cuts for the rich, support for renewable energy / reducing pollution, civil rights expansion, and investment in education, infrastructure and other areas that create lasting value.
This is asking for a massive departure from 4 years of strategy, but the American people should be reminded time and time again who votes against these measures and why by the Democratic Party. The point will be to marginalize the proponents of extremely unpopular positions and the people who vote for them in the eyes of the general public. The Tea Party might not be protesting all over the place much anymore, but the difficulty Romney has had in capturing the nomination (and the negativity he receives from the right wing echo chamber) is a testament to the continuing intensity of this relatively small group of people. This intensity, and the ludicrous positions that motivates it, needs to become a meme in the media for people to even begin to realize where the extremists are taking the Republican party.
How do we accomplish this? Simple. We keep putting forward common-sense, popular progressive legislation and either get it approved or we at least debate it in the media. Obama will not have to worry about reelection anymore and can move more to the left on some issues. I'm not saying that he will, but this approach offers many benefits. If the Democrats advance these common-sense bills once or even twice a month, they can dominate the news cycle and keep the Republicans constantly on the back foot. If there's a little buildup to some of these votes, people will be interested in seeing who votes to keep tax breaks for millionaires while gutting education, or who votes for MORE pollution in our air, water and bodies.
The main point is to keep the crazy wing of the Republican Party pulling the strings while making normal people disturbed by the whole puppet show. An improving economy (barring any bone-headed attacks on Iran by Israel) and softening budget picture will help undermine the crazy winger arguments a great deal. Regardless, the more, the crazier, the merrier! The Democrats need to keep activating that knee-jerk reaction and publicizing the inane reasons for said reaction. Combined with demographic changes, the Right's increasing detachment from reality will undermine and perhaps destroy the "Reagan Revolution" once and for all.
There is a key piece of the puzzle that depends on the people here and elsewhere throughout the progressive community. Increased seats in the Senate & House, and definitely taking back the Speaker's Gavel are CRUCIAL to getting things to work. Majorities control the agenda after all, so letting Boehner keep his job makes everything more complicated and puts a much lower ceiling on what's possible in a hypothetical 2nd Obama term.
Better candidates = more and better Democrats. Intensity = electoral wins. If you want Obama to move left, you'll have to FORCE him to move left and give him the space to do so. A friendlier Congressional Branch is the most effective way to do so. Even if 60 votes in the Senate is out of reach, knocking out Scott Brown and a few others wouldn't hurt.
In closing, we need to increase the intensity and give Democrats the space to do what's right. If we fail on our end, don't be surprised when the party and its elected members fail to do theirs.