The Truth to be Known in 2 Weeks about Off-Year Political Elections

Opinion of the Editor - James  'Obama in the White House' blog

So what is the 2010 election about this year? Well, it's about the same thing every off year election is about. It's about voting against the incumbunts. Only a handfull of Presidents enjoyed being away from the fire after 2 years in office. Maybe the fact is that any President who puts his job on the line has this problem by trying to do what is right becomes his problem. But isn't that what he is supposed to do. President Obama wanted to fulfill his promises during his campaign, and now everyone knows he meant it. Maybe that's the reason why President Bush enjoyed 2 terms in office, because he promised nothing, and most definitely did nothing, if you really want to call the handling of Hurricane Katrina victims and 911 and the Iraqi war an enjoyment.
President Obama went in office knowing full well that what he was about to attempt as President most likely would make him unpopular. Most of the Democats in the House and Senate also knew. The Conservative Democrats were just too afraid to do what they know is right. I guess "too chicken" to do what is right is the better call. So what did voting for the issues with Obama cause?  The main contributer to the peoples unrest for Obama is the lack of patience. Yes, the economy is still sputtering at 9.6 percent national unemployment. The housing crisis is still a mess and the jobs market is not doing well.
Now, chances are that the House will be lost to the Republicans, and Speaker Pelosi will loose her job as House Speaker. At least 6, maybe more Democratic governors most likely will be dethrowned, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Iowa, have a chance to go 'RED' this year. The republicans are spending more money on the elections than they have in ANY other election in history, and this is just an 'off' year. If they do win the House, the republicans will continue to do what they do best, and that is to put the breaks on upcoming policies and decisions of the President, but in turn, most likely President Obama will veto many of the Congressional decisions. But as the saying goes, "if you can give it, you must take it".
The one thing that President Obama has going for him in this off-election year, is that he has initiated several unpopular Democratic policies now in place that have at least 2 more years to mature, and in 2012 if the jobs market and unemployment go in the right direction, then he may just have what it takes to get re-elected. His 2nd big challenge is to keep the taxes low, as the Republicans will now claim what may happen to the country is because of what he has done in his first two years in office.
Will President Obama become a 'lame-duck' President, meaning he has no chance to implement any policies that he wants, mainly because the entire Congress now votes against him. If he also looses majority of the Senate in 2010, that most likely will be exactly where he may be.

President Obama's job approval ratings have severely dropped, especially in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida and Ohio. Democratic  governor encumbants in these states, all except Alaska, are enjoying a big lead over their Republican challengers, at least up to now, even though the mood of the nation seems to be against them. In contrast, the Demcratic Senators in these prospective states are not doing well.
So who really knows. What would be devastating to the Republicans would be if they couldn't gain the majority in the House, because if they couldn't do that, most likely they couldn't do it in the Senate, and they would be no better off then they are now as far as the ability to pass laws that they want, and to keep Obama from passing what they don't want.

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Elections in 2 Weeks, What will happen to Congress

It is pretty much a certainty now that there will be a lower number of Democrats in Congress after mid-term elections in two weeks, but most Democrats are confident that both the Democrats in both the House and Senate will keep a majority. Democrats are more concerned about the races in 2012, as there may be twice as many Democratic seats up for grabs then as there are now.
  Regardless, the so-called "Obama 2.0" agenda has been the talk of the town.
In a nutshell, as President, Mr. Obama must stay focused on the issues of the country, regardless whether his party holds majorities in Congress or not. In the past, he has stated that for himself to be a successful President, he would have to strengthen the economy starting with more jobs and to get everyone back to work. To do this now, many people would have to change professions, something that allot of people are not willing to do. But in his remaining 2 years in office in his first term, the President most likely will try to change the mindset of the people.
He would be the first to admit that trying to do this will be increasingly difficult, especially if the Republicans gain a majority in Congress.
Again, it is highly unlikely that the Republicans would gain the majority of Congress in both the House and Senate, but if that were to happen, President Obama would become a "lame duck" President in his first term. Congress would then fail to act on any measure that the President were interested in as they would vote within their party lines, and most likely against the President. This period of time would essentially hurt the country, but at the same time, bring in more strict checks and balances, and make it increasingly difficult to get any good legislation passed. Congress would become active, trying to pass bills that the Republicans favor. This would be a time to watch out for a slew of Presidential vetos by President Obama.

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