Libya Won't Help Obama in 2012

Unfortunately for President Obama, his policies which have been so effective in Libya probably will play little or no role in enhancing his re-election prospects. Voters aren't really focused on Libya as one of their top concerns--the economy and unemployment outrank all other concerns. And voters are tired of America's foreign entanglements. "We have two wars going on now," says an adviser to a Republican presidential candidate, referring to Afghanistan and Iraq. "People don't want any more wars." And that applies even to military operations in which the United States plays a subordinate role, such as Libya, several political strategists of both major parties said. 

[Read: Libya Intervenes in Obama Vacation.]

Of course Obama has been saying that the U.S. involvement in Libya would only be temporary and very limited, largely through the use of U.S. air power and intelligence, while other countries took the lead in helping the rebels fight the regime of Muammar Qadhafi.

"But it's jobs that Americans are worried about," says the GOP adviser. And that seems have little or nothing to do with Libya, he adds.

• Check out editorial cartoons about President Obama.
• See 7 Ways Obama Can Gain Credibility on Jobs.
• See photos of the Obamas abroad.

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