Senate Dem Pictures White House Without Obama

Things might not be looking so good for President Obama in 2012, according to one of Washington's most liberal lawmakers. Senator Al Franken D-Minn., forecast a potentially gloomy outcome for his party's first-term president during a hearing about FBI director Robert Mueller, and the former comedian wasn't kidding.

"I should note, President Obama could nominate a new director that would be there for ten years," Franken explained. "In two years, he may not be the President. So I think that bears just a mention."

The 2012 presidential field is still forming and President Obama has not started a full campaign schedule. But with Obama's latest approval rating at 47 percent in a nationwide Gallup poll Franken's comments could show the president does not have the full confidence of all Democrats in Congress when it comes to winning a second term.

Franken's comments came at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing about possibly granting President Obama's wish for FBI Director Robert Mueller to continue at that job for another two years. The law currently prohibits FBI directors from serving more than 10 years, and without an exemption, the clock will run out on Mueller September 4.

By requesting this two year extension, President Obama is seeking stability in an intelligence community that could be set for a major shake-up. Soon, there will be a new secretary of defense, a new CIA director, and a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If the president gets his way, the FBI director will remain until 2013. Mueller would then be succeeded by someone chosen by President Obama, or, if Franken is right, the next president.