Mr Obama cannot escape the humiliating verdict on his presidency. He campaigned in his home state of Illinois, for a Democratic governor running against a Republican who belongs to a wine club that costs over $100,000 to join. The oenophile won by five points.
Yet as Republicans toast their triumph, they should be careful not to over-interpret it. Their campaign did not offer voters much of a positive agenda; rather, it consisted largely of urging them to blame Mr Obama for all the trouble in the world. That was enough to secure victory, but does not give them a mandate to pursue a wishlist of conservative policies. Although more Americans than ever hold partisan views, a larger number are weary of gridlock and would prefer their representatives to compromise to get things done. For the voters to be satisfied, America will need to find new ways to run its politics.
Over the last few months Terry Hendriksen has been emailing me about Obama approval ratings being low; and I have discounted it in the belief Obama, while warmed-over Bush-lite to too distressing a degree, did as best as he could given Boehner and friends and their constant resort to putting sabots in the gearboxes of government.
Now, post-election, it appears enough people agreed with Hendriksen's assessment to bother with off-year election voting; while lukewarm regard for the directions taken vs. what might have been may have left progressives too coldly comforted to bother reaching the polls in large numbers.
Put another way, after Bush II was ending his last lame duck years with the economy in tatters there were citizens yearning for progress, among whom some level of disenchantment may have arisen, to the point of group therapy need; per the gist of an item emailed me.
Too many Dems may have stayed home, and will now be forced to watch. And in comparison to the Presidency that might have been we got the one that was. Stripped of illusions, the politician from Chicago ...
