Election results indicate seething discontent with Obama’s policies

Against the backdrop of double-digit inflation, a sagging
economy, the president’s failure to enact healthcare reform and festering
discontent over Obama’s spending policies and industry takeovers, the voters
are sending a message. No longer will the president’s calm, measured words
about facilitating change be enough to carry the day. He must actually
accomplish something of note, or else the Democrats will face stiff challenges
in the 2010 midterms, where the entire House of Representatives, a third of the
Senate and two-thirds of gubernatorial posts are up for grabs.

Tellingly, even the Democrats seem to be treating the New
Jersey and Virginia election results as a rebuke of the Obama administration.
The day after the election results came in, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-Nev.) told the press that Obama’s signature proposal — healthcare reform — may
not get done before the end of the year. This sends a clear message that
Democratic legislators are hesitant to attach themselves to Obama’s controversial
program before the 2010 midterms. 

These signals are astounding. A year ago, the country was aglow
with the idea of electing this country’s first America black president. In one
pull of the lever, hundreds of thousands of white voters felt as if they were
wiping away their collective guilt about America’s deplorable racial past. Call
it affirmative action — nearly everyone gave Obama the benefit of the doubt,
notwithstanding his slight credentials. 

But a year has passed, and the president who promised
profound change has achieved little. The narrative is no longer about electing
the first American who happens to be black. It’s about achieving policy
successes. Obama has come up short, setting the stage for what seemed
unthinkable just nine months ago — a rebuke of the Democratic Party in the 2010
mid terms. 

Williams can be heard nightly on Sirius/XM Power 169 from 9 to 10 p.m.

Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com .