Yes, a week is a long time in politics and  anything can happen between now and  U.S. election day, but I predict Barrack  Obama will be re-elected for the same  reasons he became president four years  ago. He’s a great orator who embraces a  set of policy’s that perfectly resonated with what most Americans were feeling  and thinking after eight years of George  W. Bush’s “war on terror.” Namely, that they had grown weary of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and they were pissed off over the financial meltdown of 2008.

Yes, the American economy still sucks, but I don’t sense most Americans’ realistically blame Obama for that. He may not realize any credit for the marginal improvement in the economy, but I sense he will get a lot of credit for getting bin laden and for bringing American soldiers home — which leads me to this interview I was able to conduct with three American political heavyweights this week in Toronto who were appearing in debate at the “Spirit of Hope” dinner.  I spoke with former G. W’s chief of staff  Carl Rove, Democratic commentator James Carville & Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee about the upcoming election and the fiercely partisan nature of American politics.

The Republicans will ramp up their election rhetoric now that Mitt Romney has secured the nomination, but I don’t think he has the stuff to move Americans in the way Barack Obama can.

I’ve learned through experience covering politics, elections and leaders, that one of two things are necessary to swing an election;  a revolutionary or extreme policy that resonates deeply with what the public is thinking and feeling at the time,  or,  a compelling, charismatic, leader whose oratory skill casts a spell. I don’t sense Romney has either of these two things going for him while Barack Obama still has the latter along with a measurable track record over the last four years.