by Jules Witcover

Only three and a half months before the next congressional elections, the only theme in this political pudding is a negative one. So far, it's essentially against President Obama, against Congress, against a stagnant economy and high unemployment.

In the public mind, everybody's to blame. As the White House continues to fault former President Bush and Republican obstructionism in Congress, the GOP leadership there blames Obama, creeping socialism and heavy federal spending swelling the national deficit.

The latest Washington Post/ABC News finds voters dissatisfied with everybody in power. Obama has a 54 percent disapproval rating on his handling of the economy; 72 percent say they have little or no confidence in the Republicans on Capitol Hill, and 68 percent say they feel the same about the Democrats there.

Against this tide of negativism and distrust, the president is out around the country trying to convince disbelieving voters that his $878 billion stimulus package, wrapped as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, has "created or saved up to" 3.5 million jobs.

But the millions of unemployed are more convinced by the national jobless rate stuck at 9.5 percent. Actually, the figure is higher because many Americans have stopped looking for work or are not filing for unemployment benefits, and aren't calculated in the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers.

Signs at hundreds of work sites around the country financed by the stimulus money, proclaiming that tax dollars are at work to spur the economy, are encountering criticism on some television news shows as a waste of taxpayer money. Republicans in Congress are chiming in, labeling the signs Democratic political propaganda.

The public-works signs are drawing some of the same ire as the BP commercials on television telling Americans the company that caused the Gulf oil spill will not stop trying to cut it off and cleaning up the mess until the job's done. Why, it is asked, is BP spending millions on this self-promotion when thousands of claims from damaged Gulf workers have not yet been paid?

Into this miasma of discontent, both major parties and their leading lights are working overtime trying to tap into the reigning sentiment for campaign contributions with which to wage what is shaping up as one of the most freewheeling negative congressional elections in years.

With the Republicans on offense, their leaders are salivating over what they see as the optimistic prospect of taking control of both the House and Senate in November. The recent comment of White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, that there are enough House seats "in play" for the GOP to gain the 39 seats needed for a majority, has been gleefully noted by the Republicans.

Gibbs was quick to say he didn't think it would happen, but that didn't stop House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from complaining about the remark and reportedly about insufficient White House support for House Democratic candidates.

For all of Obama's insistence that the economic stimulus is paying off in jobs created and saved, the Democrats find themselves distinctly on the defensive in the congressional battle already underway. All the talk of major Democratic losses risks a depressing political climate for them and more laments that Obama isn't doing enough, in rallying the troops or in creating a more upbeat climate, for all his dogged optimism.

Vice President Joe Biden, who has had a conspicuously influential role in overseeing the stimulus projects around the country and selling their effectiveness, has also been tapped to campaign heavily for House Democratic candidates around the country. But his appearances are no substitute for Obama in fund-raising and morale boosting.

Considering the negative mood in this developing political season, the president has a two-barreled challenge. While laboring to demonstrate improvement in the economy and the jobs picture, he also needs to snap his party faithful out of the doldrums, reviving the intensity that marked his 2008 nomination and election.

Right now, most of the vigor and optimism appears to be on the Republican side. Obama must convince Democrats once again that "yes, we can" hold onto control of Congress if he hopes to advance his goals in the second half of his term.

 

Available at Amazon.com:

The Feminine Mystique

The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy

The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics

Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks

The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House

 

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2010 Elections: The Anti-Election of 2010 | Politics

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