Two Controversies Threaten to Derail Obama’s Re-Election Bid
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 06:16PM 
With the controversies over Solyndra and Fast and Furious showing no signs of going away anytime soon, President Obama faces an uphill battle of staying focused on winning re-election next November.
The White House announced Friday that it has ordered a review of the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program as multiple investigations swirl over Solyndra, the California-based solar company that went bankrupt after receiving a $528 million federal loan.
And at least eight Republican lawmakers are calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over the botched federal gun-trafficking program known as Fast and Furious.
The developments come as Obama tries to convince voters that his top priority is turning the economy around and that he deserves a second term despite his low approval ratings.
Obama’s $447 jobs bill failed to advance in the Senate and now he is trying to get Congress to pass the package piece by piece. But the first piece, a $35 billion bill to help local governments keep teachers on the job and pay the salaries of police and firefighters, has stalled in the Senate.
Obama has begun bypassing Congress and taking steps on his own through executive actions that he says will encourage economic growth. On Friday, he directed government agencies to shorten the time it takes for federal research to turn into commercial products in the marketplace. The goal is to help startup companies and small businesses create jobs and expand their operations more quickly.
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