Barack Obama and the “mini mid-terms”

The change he didn't seek

This week’s results carry warnings for both parties: but the Democrats—and their leader—should worry more

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Readers' comments



This was an excellent and objective column.

I don't believe the elections in NJ and VA were a referendum on the President;however, the change he promised is very slow in coming. This is due I think to his doing too much. Jobs and the economy are what worry people the most. Focus must be in those areas.

Republicans, like Democrats, need Moderates to win elections and confidence. Sarah Palin and other conservatives like her are de trop and can't expect to win elections based on their view of social issues that are only the business of the individual.


If centrist voters are worried about the growing deficit and the expanded reach of government they are confused, misinformed citizens. Of course, most American voters tend to be confused and misinformed. The politicians understand this and, instead of boring their constituents with crazy things like policy, continue to operate with simple ideas that make sense to the average person (no matter how wrong these ideas may be) and enable Americans to displace their anger onto something or someone else.




No futurologist, I, but here's my take-- for what little it's worth:

"The economy will either continue to recover or sputter again." It will *crawl* upwards, as the Administration has averted disaster, but has created a business-unfriendly economic environment. Smoot-Hawley is making an unwelcome comeback.

" reform will either pass or collapse monumentally..." A thin sliver or it ~might~ pass. Democrats will ooh and aah over their achievement, but 99% of the present, adverse conditions will persist-- this, assuming that *cost* will not be addressed.

"Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran all contain the potential to wreck his presidency." They sure do. That's why he ought to fold his cards, cut his losses, and refocus.

"And as for Mr Obama’s re-election prospects in 2012, it is far too early to say anything meaningful about those." If not meaningful, let me at least say the obvious: the GOP is in ruins. It can neither be *in* office on a federal level, nor can it act as a credible opposition while *out* of office.

The article pins the right tail on the right donkey: bravo! To wit, most congressional Democrats (as I've always maintained) are nasty, malicious narodniks, hungry to ride to power on the backs of other people's grievances. I detest them! Still, there won't be any *other* party for me to vote for in 2012-- or for the next few decades, for that matter. Bah, humbug!



"Wisdom at proper times will forget." -English Proverb

This is the best thing to do not only for the US President of 2009, but also for the American Nation - CODE OF 2009 -:


Can you decode it? -OK, let go !

We will decode it on next week.

Hwytu, S&FR,...



Well, the pundits are spinning as this off year election just got over and have some opening to talk about couple losses that the Democrats took. It is certainly a point to make that about the mid term election in 2010 may look to be a crucial concern for the Democrats but in such election the party of power tends to loose seats but the Republican party are not in such a good shape either. This elction just ended with the dissatisfaction by local population not the referendum on the President but about the local issues.

This is the way the Democrats and the American people must look ahead in the future. Remember, this President had been left with the worst economic and Foreign policy crisis in well over 60 years and things will not turn around over night. But as this president has sought the kind of policies that needs to be implemented in order to turn the economy around and the trend is pointing towards that. The job losses have been tamed yet there might be some pitfalls in the way but once these policies starts to take effect, rest assure that the people will be flocking to their base once again to show their support for their party.


Your criticism of Obama's reluctance to lead Congress toward worthy legislative initiatives is misplaced. As a community organizer, his role is to obtain funding to perpetuate his community activism. If there is money available for painting houses green, the competent community organizer will get all the houses painted green.
As the so-called president, he saw that money was available for fiscal stimulus - and got a $0.8 trillion check. For global warming, he sees that a cap and trade thing will give him a big check. And run away health costs are a non-starter for getting a check so now it is health insurance reform which means more big checks.
Perhaps we'll get a president again in 2012.

simon says

So, Obama didn't lead on health care and try to drive a bipartisan approach which he claimed would be a hallmark of his presidency. Instead he let the most radical wing of the Dems take the lead. Then he waffles on whether or not he supports a public option. The extreme base of the party howls, so he backs off of that statement, kind of. That's not leadership.

In Afganistan, he says he plans to take months to decide on the proper strategy. Such a monumental decision deserves due diligence - but months to decide in the midst of war?

What we have here is a man who is being torn between his own extreme left leanings and the fact that in his head with information he did not have before he was President he sees the moderates are right. Examples abound - before the election, I'll close Guantanam; after the election, well once we figure out who's really dangerous and who isn't - before the election, I will pull the troops out of Iraq immediately; after well immediately in accordance with the plan already signed by Bush - before the election, we'll put resources into Afghanistan where the real war is; after the election, maybe it's not that important and we should just come home.

It is no surprise that he waffles. He has 45 years of far left dogma with his world view being what works in Chicago, and now going on a year as President he finds the facts of the broader world support taking actions which are in conflict with his core beliefs developed in a different setting. I will give him credit in that he hasn't simply ignored the facts. His shift on Guatanamo and Iraq were largely fact based. A person of lesser intellegence would have just let his basic instinct rule regardless of facts. On the other hand, he caved to the Dems on stimulus and allowed them to create a bill that locks in spending ten years out, long after this crisis will have ended. The conflict between head and heart here leads to waffling, which is not acceptable in a war. Had he had more experience on the broader stage before becoming President, he may have already resolved his inner conflict. But he looked good, spoke well, knew how to organize, and wasn't a Republican. Folks thought that was good enough. 30 years ago they thought it was good enough with Jimmy Carter too, till he started waffling in crisis with Iran and the economy and was just plain ineffective. Time will tell if Obama can get it together better.


I can't believe that for the second week in a row Economist has gone wide of the mark on American politics. To call Corzine "competent" is just plain incorrect. True he may lack charisma, but he presided over one of the most corrupt, tax-and-spend state administrations in all America. Unemployment skyrocketed and businesses abandoned NJ at tsunami levels. Property tax is the highest in America, but revenues are falling precipitously. Competent? Hardly.

I'm a Virginian and can tell you that aside from having a lackluster Democrat running for office, even ultra progressive Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, tipped for the Republican McDonnell. Obama didn't "give up long ago in Virginia," Virginia gave up on Obama. His disillusioned base of blacks, university students and limousine liberals simply didn't bother to turn out. Obama's excessive agenda is the root cause, and anyone who's remotely knowledgeable knows there's not enough money in all the banks in the world to pay for Obama and Congress' spending spree.

As for "internal feuding" within the Republican Party - using, as you did, the NY 23d - another red herring. The Republican nominee, Ms Scuzzafava, was put up by a group of 11 party bosses in the district, without any sort of public vote. As it turns out the good lady was a Democrat in disguise and didn't "quit in disgust," but rather was pushed out the door. That led to conservatives putting up an independent candidate at the last moment. It's nothing short of miraculous that he came within 3% of beating the Democrat, Owens.

I'm starting to believe that The Economist is sulking because the man they fell in love with and endorsed for President, has failed. You can be assured that there's going to be a sea change in Congress next year; and, a high probability that Obama is a 1-termer.

Get some competent observers on the scene in America and for Pete's sake, don't sulk.


Obama was elected with one primary mandate -- Fix the Economy! After giving some two trillion dollars to the bankers, Obama's economic policy is still guided by the Summers, Geithner, Rubin faction, who evidently see little harm in giving the insurance industry a trillion. And remember there are six medical/insurance lobbyists for each congressman so the chance that any legislation will be written that favors the consumer/taxpayer is nil. So, essentially the dollar will be trashed, the U.S. economy will remain on auto pilot in a downward spiral, pension funds and savings will be eroded to inflation. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and that ilk will make out like bandits, the people will be left poorer and the republicans reap the benefit of a policy even worse than their own.


Obama rocks, and this country is grateful for it.

America is sick of psychotic Repubs trying to destroy our country for the average man and turn our society into a caste society with the super wealthy on top and everyone else on the bottom.


My opinion on results:
1) Republicans are not making a "surge." Virginia usually is Republican, and New Jersey was fed up with Corzine, especially by the way he ran his re-election (I was disgusted when he insinuated that Christie was too fat to be governor, and I'm a, I didn't like Corzine because he was from Goldman sachs; and New Yorkers and New Jerseyans are in a very anti-bank mood). Also, New Jersey has deep economic problems. And the kicker: a property tax reduction that was in effect for three years expired, causing property taxes to rise sharply this election year. Corzine justly allowed it to expire because New Jersey, like all other states are in deep red ink from the recession that Republicans at the national level created.

My suggestions for Obama:
1) People are indeed right to be worried about the economy. His proposals on healthcare are in the right direction as is funding a stimulus package to support the economy down from hyperconsumption instead of crash down from hyperconsumption.
2) However, such spendings have to be met with cuts elsewhere (preferably in spending for Iraq and Afghanistan as the war on terror is a waste of money; a war on oil consumption would be better -- it would de-fund the Middle East while solving global warming issues with new green technologies that will give us energy independence, and independence from Middle East issues as we no longer need to be in the region). Higher spending also need to be met with higher taxes (especially on the rich who caused this crisis), and therefore should pay for the stimulus.
3) Obama also needs to write his own bills, because sending it into congress allows Republicans too much opportunity to drag their feet, muddy the debate, and then blame the President.
4) Most of ALL -- he needs to get tough on the banks, but breaking them up as cartels (because that is what they are), hold bankers accountable, force them to forgo bonuses for awhile, shrink the industry and place massive taxes on the wealthy for distorting the economy.

However, given that Geithner and Summers are advising him, and he seems truthfully doubtful in his own abilities besides chatting up a storm to make us all feel good, the Democrats and Republicans are both doomed. Democrats because Obama failed to be FDR and Republicans because ultimately, they created this mess!


I find it very amusing that everyone seems to believe that President Obama is worshipped and loved by all. The only thing I ever read about him these days is how bad he is, how he should have the economy fixed (no one could fix this economy no matter how smart they were), how much he spends (no one, and I mean no one on these forums and most major publications, understands the U.S. budget process, let alone deficits and the purpose of deficit spending - yes, the stimulus package should have been much larger). I think I may be the only person that is able to understand that problems can't be solved overnight - I may be the only individual that believes Obama is doing a pretty good job. So, to say he is worshipped is saying that I like him. Obviously, I disagree with your assertion.

robert verdi

"Jon Corzine, who has been a perfectly competent, if uncharismatic, governor"
Are you kidding? Corzine was wealthy enough not to need bribes and kickbacks, that is about all that could be said for him.

jeff watchman

The Economist never misses an opportunity to hit the president below the belt with pure unadulterated propaganda. Last week they treated the president fair now they false charges over elections that had nothing to do with him and the exit polls point that out. Journalism has become nothing but propaganda and it is a shame that the Economist gets down in the gutter with the Rupert Murdock publications and television stations. People can see through this twisted journalism. They are tired of their intelligence being insulted and having to pay for it as well. That is why journalism is failing.

wilfred knight

..ObamaCare = ObamaTAX

..Obamacare = ObamaTAX

..ObamaTAX = JobKILLER

The ObamaTAX is a $2.3 trillion dollar heist from working Americans to fund this socialist power grab.
Small businesses will be destroyed , or stillborn - never created.
This will kill the American Dream.
The American voter has spoken - they don't want ObamaTAX.
They don't want to be little Englanders, dependent on an arrogant political elite for handouts .


Obama can't fix the economy as long as he relies on Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Geithner, and Summers for advice, because their advice will be to do whatever benefits Goldman and the other big financial houses.
Time to put Glass-Steagall back in place to separate commercial banking from brokerage, and to break those troublesome banks into little pieces.



Mindless slogans such as "health care for all, now" grossly oversimplify the reality of, say, the 2,000-page, trillion-dollar-plus Pelosi healthcare bill. As with the stimulus bill, the Dems are keen to conduct their horse-trading out of public view and call for votes only days or mere hours after the ink is dry so as to avoid scrutiny by the opposition and public. Such is not the change I was looking for. Nor is it the change we were promised. Obama promised a new age of transparency - that the healthcare legislating would all occur in front of the CSPAN cameras. Anyone who believed such lofty rhetoric has been shown a fool.


Barack Obama wanted all the bills to be as left as they are. He just didn't want to be blamed for it. The vagueness created plausible deniability, and attempted to safeguard his centrist appeal while hoping to run through very far left bills.



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