Barack Obama has been president for exactly one year. Americans don't like him. Actually, it's not personal; it has to do with his views and values. Americans don't like the direction in which he is moving (or trying to move) the country. They thought they were electing a metapolitician, i.e., someone who is above and beyond politics. (Compare metaphysics.) It turns out that Obama is no different from anyone else who has held the office, and in some respects worse. (He lied about transparency, for example. Americans don't take kindly to being deceived.)
Here is a New York Times story about the fate of health-care reform following yesterday's stunning victory by Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts senatorial race. President Obama appears to be in denial. He thinks the "anger" that got Brown elected (note that anger can be well-grounded) is the same anger that got him elected in 2008. I don't know about you, but I don't like denial in my president. I want a president who is in touch with reality. The reality is that Americans don't want a massive transformation of health care. They want reform. They want tinkering and tweaking, with the possibility of returning to the status quo should the experiments go awry. If President Obama and his fellow Democrats don't get a grip on reality soon, they will pay a fearful price at the ballot box come November 2010 and November 2012. Americans seem to be saying that, while they were not happy with many aspects of Republican leadership, they are even less happy with Democrat leadership.
Addendum: I have always admired Lanny Davis, though I only occasionally agree with him. This column of his, from today's Wall Street Journal, is on the mark. I wish I had written it myself. (For the record, I read it after writing this post.) Here is my pithy summary of Davis's column: In November 2008, Americans thought they were electing a liberal; instead, they elected a progressive. Time to hit the "undo" button.
Addendum 2: Peg weighs in.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 