Ted, the way I see these midterm elections, it wasn't an endorsement of the GOP and its policies as it was a vote of no confidence in Obama.
You are right, the Dems did indeed run for their party's star. But why would they if they, along with the media, helped this star rise in the first place? You're probably thinking, "Because the Dems are stupid; that's why I was an 'independent' until 2008,'" but I don't think that's an honest answer.
No, the real reason is because Obama is only good at one thing, and that is campaigning for himself. He soundly beat McCain and Romney, and many liberals pointed to that as examples of how Obama must be good at something. But in both cases, Obama didn't really run on his record (the same record that in 2008 Bill Clinton infamously called "the biggest fairy tale" he's ever seen). Instead, he ran on the strength of his celebrity status while simultaneously smearing his opponents as "too white, too rich, too conservative."
In the midterms, however, Obama isn't really running against anyone. In fact, Obama isn't even running. Hence the elections turn into (a) a regional state-by-state battle, and (b) a general vote of confidence in the current Washington leadership. And in both 2010 and 2014, these contests have gone the way of Republicans, but not because the Republicans are well-liked. Instead, it's because people are truly sick of what they continually see coming out of Washington.
Of course, Obama remains in complete denial. He still thinks yesterday was just the result of geopolitics being tilted against the Democrats this year, and he refuses to believe that he is at the center of the mess in Washington right now. In fact, if you listen to his speeches, Obama continues to act like he's an outsider to Washington politics.
He should realize that after six years, he has to take ownership, or else he'd be forever branded as aloof and an incredibly unsuccessful President. When even Michael Moore is turning against him, that should serve as a wake-up call to Obama.
But I predict that, just like the past six years, Obama will just coast on through his remaining two years and try to get things done by "executive fiat." And that means more gridlock in Washington and an even bigger, earlier focus on 2016 than ever before.
Tenchusatsu |
