Inside Politics

LOOKING AHEAD

“I began this year doubtful that we’d see much excitement in the 2010 elections. I’m quickly changing my tune,” Stuart Rothenberg writes in Roll Call.

“After two big elections, Democrats didn’t have many opportunities left in the House. GOP Senate retirements seemed to open the door to more Democratic gains, but with the Democrats controlling 59 (then 60) seats, additional party gains, quite frankly, wouldn’t be regarded as significant,” Mr. Rothenberg said.

“But growing public concern about spending, taxes and the size of government has started to shift the national landscape away from the Democrats to a more neutral position, and quite possibly toward the GOP. The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has even found that Republicans have regained their historic advantage as the party better suited to deal with spending and taxes.

“The change in the political landscape has encouraged Republican candidates and prospects. But Democratic recruiting remains on track, with a list of strong candidates.

“Even now, a number of top-shelf contests are developing, making for a surprisingly interesting 2010 election.

“Open Senate seats in competitive states seem to guarantee feisty contests in Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, while vulnerable (or potentially vulnerable) incumbents in Connecticut, Louisiana and North Carolina create uncertainty. And of course, there is Pennsylvania, where one of the nastiest, meanest and bloodiest primaries in recent history seems inevitable, and where too many people are underestimating the chances of a competitive general election.

“Indeed, the large number of competitive Senate primaries can only make the cycle more volatile.”

HOLIER THAN THOU

“When, exactly, did the bloom come off the rose?’ Sherman Frederick asks in the Las Vegas Review-Journal

“For a good many, I’ll bet it was 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, just after President Barack Obama delivered another ‘sounds good, less filling’ speech before a joint session of Congress,” Mr. Frederick wrote.

“After nine months, Americans have begun to make up their minds about this president, and the growing conclusion is this: On the menu of competency, this leader of the free world is one taco short of a full combination plate. He’s undisciplined, snooty and less gifted than initially thought, making him ill-prepared to grasp greatness, even when history offers it.

“Time and again, in a pinch, this president has shown himself a pedestrian thinker unable to move himself, much less anyone else, beyond partisan politics. Because of that (and I’m sorry to say it), his presidency is likely to fall short at a time when America could use a healthy dose of excellence.

“His speech on health care ‘reform’ last week before Congress illustrated the point perfectly.

“That topic has devolved into a public brawl. Blame that on mean-ol’ Republicans or wild-eyed governors from Alaska or ‘evil-mongers’ from the rest home, if you like. But we can all agree that hardly any constructive conversations on health care have taken place in this country in the past 30 days. And that goes on the heads of leaders from both parties.

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