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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Kenneth T. Walsh
Obama Needs a Win Now to Avoid Disaster in November
Some critics say President Obama is too liberal. Others say he is too centrist. Still others consider him out of touch with the middle class. Whatever the reason, the polls suggest that his party will lose big in this November's midterm elections, which are becoming a referendum on Obama's presidency and Democratic rule on
But the real problem for Obama is not his ideology or his alleged isolation. It's that too many Americans don't think he has governed effectively on the issues that matter most, even though his party controls the House, the
Demonstrating some degree of mastery over Washington would not only give the Obama administration some momentum and a morale boost but also would allay fears that the capital has sunk into perpetual stalemate. Eighty-six percent of Americans now say the government is broken, an increase of 8 points since 2006, according to the latest
This is why healthcare legislation is so important to Obama's political fate. It has been languishing for weeks, with the Democratic majorities in the House and
Senior
An indication that the
But Republicans say that it may be too late for Obama to restore his can-do reputation in time to influence the elections this fall. "His election was precipitated by Americans' loss of faith in institutions and his promise to restore faith in those institutions and in government," says a senior
Part of Obama's problem is that he has failed to deliver on key promises, such as his pledge to win passage for healthcare reform in 2009 and his prediction that his economic stimulus plan would hold unemployment under 8 percent. It's now at 9.7 percent. "He sets deadlines, and too often he pushes them back," says the
President Obama admits that the system in Washington is broken, but he isn't telling the voters anything they don't already know. After all, Americans hired Obama to fix the capital and repair the economy, and most people don't think he has succeeded in either case. He needs to get on the scoreboard as soon as possible with a victory, somehow, some way, or the November elections will be a disaster for him and his party.
Available at Amazon.com:
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
AMERICAN POLITICS
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Obama's Real Problem: Many American's don't Think he's Governed Effectively | Kenneth T. Walsh
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