Waning Enthusiasm: Obama himself acknowledges that his candidacy isn't as exciting as it was in 2008 when he was a political newcomer. Voters who lack enthusiasm may not donate money or volunteer for his campaign. They also may not show up to vote in November. That's a particular concern for Obama among young people, who not only voted for him in large numbers in 2008, but were a core part of his volunteer base. A Pew Research Center poll conducted last month showed that 60 percent of younger voters say they are giving quite a lot of thought to the election, down from 71 percent in 2008.
Lack of second term specifics: Obama's re-election rationale is based more on broad themes, like economic fairness, than specific policy objectives for a second term. A recent economic speech in Ohio was largely a rehash of ideas the president has previously proposed. It left the president open to criticism from Republicans and some Democrats who say he hasn't provided voters a clear enough sense of what he wants to do in a second term. Obama campaign officials counter this criticism by saying the presidents still wants to pass previously proposed ideas that were blocked by Congress in his first term — and by noting that Romney hasn't offered many specifics of his own.
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