Midterms

It's been two years to the day since Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. I still believe in the man, and I am convinced that the outcome of the midterm elections this week is less about his policies and more about a national mood of frustration with the broken political process in Washington. 

Still, given the new Republican majority in the House and the reduced Democratic majority in the Senate, I hope Obama won't saddle his next two years with trying to reach across the aisle. The Tea Party Republicans on their way to Washington have no desire to work with him on anything. Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told the National Journal that his party's overriding goal for the next Congress is to ensure that President Obama does not get re-elected. "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president," he said. He couldn't have made the GOP agenda any clearer. In other words, Republicans are committed to the failure of government and the American people be damned. 

Ironically, Obama is that rare politician who actually believes that politics is about bettering the lives of the people. History will show that even though he may be losing the PR race, he has already accomplished major initiatives despite the gridlock in Congress. It may now be time to take the fight outside of the system. Mr. President, there are more of us with you than all the Fox News pundits and Tea Partiers would have you believe. 

Art was borrowed from today's post at mouse medicine. Thank you Kim!