Obama fated to lose in 2012?

Tim Giago:  Leaving the anger and the meanness2012 is not that far away and I predict that we will have a one term president. There is too much time left between elections and the important issues left to be solved by President Obama are now obscured by dubious hints of race and since I live in a state, South Dakota, as an American Indian, a race that is often the object of overt racism, I fully understand the implications.

The constant hammering by the far right has just begun and 2012 is the year the Mayan calendar and the presidential elections of 2012 cross paths. The light of change the Mayans predicted could be snuffed out by the darker prophecies of that year.

The Mayans predicted that “Going into the 5th dimension, it will be the start of a new era. At sunrise December 12, 2012, Earth will be crossing the equator, aligning itself with the center of the galaxy for the first time in 26,000 years. This will make a cosmic cross. This cosmic cross is considered the ‘tree of life.’ This will open a channel for universal energy to flow through the Earth, cleansing it and all who dwell upon it, rising all to a higher level of vibration. This process has already begun.”Comment:  First, Giago's "Mayan" quote apparently comes from Mayan Prophecies by ThunderBeat, who's primarily a musician. Thunderbeat's website describes her this way:ThunderBeat is a gifted shamaness, a World Bridger who melds tonal and tribal elements into multidimensional soundscapes. Her harmonies soothe the spirit. Her rhythms awaken the soul.

ThunderBeat is a Native American of Choctaw and Shawnee heritage. International recording artist and performer. She has studied at the prestigious Eastman School of Music, and with ritualistic/drummer Layne Redmond. For years she has been performing with Mayan Shaman Jose Arguelles (The Mayan Factor) In 2005 she was nominated for five Native American Music awards and won best World and New age Recordings.So ThunderBeat isn't Maya herself and has little or no credibility as a Maya expert. Yet Giago quotes her as if she's channeling the ancient Maya verbatim.

Second, the whole 2012 thing is either hype or bunk. A few postings suggest why:

No Doomsday in 2012Archaeologists and mythologists ... believe that the Mayans predicted an age of enlightenment when 13.0.0.0.0 comes around; there isn't actually much evidence to suggest doomsday will strike. If anything, the Mayans predict a religious miracle, not anything sinister.

[T]he Mayan Doomsday Prophecy is purely based on a calendar which we believe hasn't been designed to calculate dates beyond 2012. Mayan archaeo-astronomers are even in debate as to whether the Long Count is designed to be reset to 0.0.0.0.0 after 13.0.0.0.0, or whether the calendar simply continues to 20.0.0.0.0 (approximately 8000 AD) and then reset.What is the year 2012 Mayan prophecy?All the so-called “Mayan prophecies of 2012” are nothing more than wildly speculative extrapolations, which are based on the yet uncertain interpretations by scholars of Mayan hieroglyphs. However, the truth is that apart from the astrological convergence, there is little indication that the Mayans prophesied anything specific regarding the events of this distant future. The Mayans were not prophets; they were not even able to predict their own cultural extinction.

Accepting the Mayan 2012 prophecy logically requires acceptance of the following theories: our sun is a god; the sun is powered by the blood of human sacrifice; the creation moment occurred at 3114 B.C. (despite all evidence that it happened much earlier); and the visual alignment of stars has some significance for everyday human life.As always, I counterpredict that absolutely nothing of significance will happen on December 21, 2012. If Giago or anyone would like to bet on it, please let me know. I could use the money.

As for Obama's future, he'll be up for election a month and a half before doomsday. It's unlikely that a Maya prophecy for what happens after 12/21/12 can affect what happens before that date also.

And what is Giago saying, exactly? That if Obama loses, a Sarah Palin type ("drill, baby, drill") will lead the fight against global warming and other environmental threats? Or that we'd better make sure Obama doesn't lose...or a Palin type will usher in the apocalypse?

My prediction is that Obama will have a mixed-to-good record similar to Bill Clinton's after four years. Rabid right-wingers will still be attacking him as a socialist and a Muslim. In the unlikely event Republicans nominate a moderate--or someone who can pretend to be a moderate (e.g., Pawlenty or Romney)--Obama will have a tough reelection campaign. If they nominate a flake or a kook such as Palin or Jindal, Obama will coast to victory.

For more on the subject, see Idiot's Guide to 2012 and Gold Rush of "2012ology."