Without a hypothetical, after all, there is no room for the false choice. Do you want an apocalypse or Cash for Clunkers?

◼ The Hypothetical President - David Harsanyi/Human Events

...The president has, by his own account, prevented countless disasters and tackled an incalculable number of problems that don't exist yet....

As a political matter, "Things could have been worse, you know" is a far cry from "Hope." That's probably why the Obama campaign has settled on the slogan "Forward." That's not to say that the counterfactual tactic is unusual in politics -- we are, after all, engaging in some serious guesswork -- but rarely is the justification for re-election based almost entirely on a gigantic hypothetical. When there is no tangible accomplishment to grab, I guess you're left with few alternatives.