Before folks get to discouraged. I thought it would be helpful to think out the next few years and where it seems to me this President is headed....
Folks what's with all the crying and finger pointing about the midterms. If you are a Obama supporter or even just a good old fashioned progressive let's learn a bit from the past. Obama thinks strategically and for the long-haul. Its cliche I know this struggle with repubs is a war not a battle. Obama is fighting the war and is perfectly willing to cede a few battles here and there. Let's lift our heads up and think a few years out as our President I have no doubt is doing.
- Its good for Dems to have lost the house. Yes I said it. Why - repubs now have to take ownership for something. "No" is no longer an option and people will get to hear each and everyday one bad idea after another. In addition, with unemployment @ 9.5% and economy still sluggish dems were going to pay and if you got to lose what would you rather have the house or the Senate? My pick keep the upper house where we still have control and can either hold up or squash House repub bills.
- Dems didn't just have a majority they had a supermajority in both houses. As my man Joe Biden said once -- "we got dems where there shouldn't be dems" that pretty much sums it up. We lost a number of those folks that frankly shouldn't have been there. One exception Tom Perriello in VA. Hoping he'll be back.
- Think about where Obama did campaign this year - NV, WA, CO, CA, IL, PA and with the exception of Joe Sestak and IL Dem (you see I can't even name the dude in IL) did pretty well in those areas and we stemmed what was bad to what could have been downright awful. One side note to this don't blame OFA for not turning out young and minority voters. Each and every politician has to speak to those groups. Obama can lead them to you, but you got to make them follow.
- Electoral College- Take a look @ the electoral college map http://www.270towin.com/... but the Western strategy that Howard Dean dreamed up and Obama drove home in 2008 is still in effect (remember where and for whom he campaigned in 2010 makes you say hmmmm...). Obama could, and I say could, lose OH, FL and give back a host of states won in 2008 (VA, NC, IA, IN) and still reach 270 electoral college votes by winning the West, CO, NM, upper midwest (C'mon you think he won't call in a favor for bailing out the auto-industry), and North East. Not guaranteed, but would be hard with the minority voters in PA for it to go red in 2012....He'd have to really crap on his base to make that happen and please tell me how after alienating latinos repubs could possibly make any inroads out West - ain't gonna happen.
- Google Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton mid-terms be warned it wasn't pretty...Reagan was being threatened with a primary challenger and Bill Clinton wasn't getting much of anything right. A little perspective helps make sense of it all.
The net is strategy works you cede some ground where you have to achieve your long term goals. Obama true to form will let the dust settle ala after Scott Brown won in MA. He'll secretly rally the troops and craft out the rest of his agenda and get done each and everything he wanted to get done as he has the past two years.
Provided the economy continues its slow march to recovery, unemployment to about mid to low 7%, we get immigration done, and dems a get verbal tick that throws out the word Jobs to each and every question asked. We'll be fine in 2012. So cheer up its called S-T-R-A-T-E-G-Y.