The mid-term elections have rarely been kind to new Presidents, so at least Obama is not alone as he faces an uphill battle ahead of the November 2 mid-terms.
Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton before him suffered heavy losses in the mid-terms of their first term, but both of them were also reelected with large margins at the next presidential elections.
The 2010 race is still uncertain, with the Democrats looking to lose a large portion of their hold on Congress, but it may not be all bad news for Obama’s presidency.
Obama’s election in 2008 was not an ideological one, but a sing that the voting public really wanted change, consensus and problem solving from Washington. Expectations of the eloquent, charismatic Obama were atmospheric, to say the least.
In the days leading up to the elections, there is immense anger from the ideological right, expressed with zeal from members of the Tea Party, as well as a sense of disillusionment from the left.
It appears that voters, who in a recent poll gave 13% favorable ratings to Congressional Democrats and 5% to Congressional Republicans are unhappy with both parties. While the exact outcome of the election is impossible to tell given such numbers, the democrats will likely lose numbers in Congress.
Obama has an opportunity to learn from this election and really work to make consensus building work, and to slow down the spending. If neither party starts to listen to the disillusionment and anger of the public, the stage will be ripe for a third party to inflict real damage in 2012.
