Halperin’s Take: The GOP Message from 2010 to 2012

On "Charlie Rose," Mark Halperin says the status of ObamaCare and the unemployment rate will determine how Republicans take on the president in two years.

Transcript:

Rose: "Mark Halperin, how will this midterm election shape the presidential run in 2012?"

Halperin: "Well, I think it's going to give every Republican who's thinking about running for president an opportunity to look at the results of this election and how the congressional leaders, the Republican Party, deal with the president in early 2011 as the presidential race heats up for the nomination fight. And they're going to have to decide, do they think they can beat Barack Obama running like the way Republicans have run in 2010 -- opposition, appealing to the base of the party -- or do they think, as I think is accurate, that they need a broader message -- a message that's going to appeal to more independents, some democrats, more non-white voters -- in a way that's necessary to win a presidential. None of the Republican presidential candidates in 2010 have spoken out in any way, with the possible exception of Mitch Daniels in Indiana, in a way that is sort of cross the base of the party -- where the energy of the party is. I think you always have a challenge when you're running for president in either party, how to appeal to the activists who really dominate the nominating process, while still having a general election message which is essential particularly in the age of youtube and google. And I think it's going to be fascinating to watch how they negotiate that, how they figure out how you at once win your nomination appealing to the base and be ready to take on Barack Obama."

Rose: "So will the 2012 race be a referendum on President Obama or will, as Karl Rove has often said, it always is about change?"

Halperin: "I think right now -- and we'll have to see what happens with the courts, we'll have to see what happens with the presumably Republican dominated Congress -- let's see what happens with health care in 2011 and 2012. If the law survives, I think that and the unemployment rate will really be the dominant issues. And Republicans if they can stay disciplined , as they have in this election, not talking about the Islamic center near Ground Zero, not talking about homosexuality and whether it's nature or nurture, if they can focus just on the economy and this question of, is there someone else who's a Republican who can manage things better, I think that's probably from this removed, that's probably going to be the strongest Republican message."