It's not just about turning off progressives and the base

[cali]

Not referring specifically to MA here, but generally. Yes, Obama has failed to stand with progressives and the base. Had he just done a couple of things like repealing DADT, the progressive base would be much more enthused, but I believe that there are more ominous forces at work: Part of it is the pendulum which is pretty reliable, but much of is darker and uglier than that; barely submerged racism mixed with economic insecurity and an almost existential angst are also instrumental in the picture.

[rudy23]

1. Then why did Mass. go for Obama by 28 pts.?

Maybe because Obama the candidate was more appealing than Obama the President. Both were black, btw.

[notesdev]

7. Obama the Candidate promised us hope and change

while Obama the President gave us more of the same.

This really isn't that hard to figure out.

For Obama the Candidate, "hope and change" was a meaningless campaign slogan. For the people of this country it was an absolute necessity after the disaster of the Bush years.

[cali]

8. That was then, this is now.

that was 15 months ago. And the teabaggers have gained traction in that time- even in MA.

[rudy23]

11. Mass. got 30% more racist in one year? How?

What's so popular about teabaggers that they can turn a solidly blue state red overnight?

More importantly, why can't we harness some of that populist anger? Is it Obama's ideology that keeps him from taking on Wall St. the way the teabaggers are?

[notesdev]

13. It's not the ideology

it's the bribery

#1 donor to the Obama campaign... you guessed it, Goldman Sachs. And the other bailout whores aren't far behind.

Explains a lot, doesn't it? Definitely explains why Tim Geithner is still Treasury Secretary and not a numbered inmate in Riker's Island.

[Hardrada]

2. People have no real political defense against the corporate forces

arrayed against them by both major political parties so they are throwing everything they can get their hands on to alleviate this growing sense of being powerless which is the underlying cause of their anxiety.

[Warpy]

3. The problem is Congress and the people they have turned off

are in the real political center as identified by issue polls.

Progressives and the far left aren't as turned off as they thought they would be since incremental progress has been made in many areas and little has actually gotten worse that can't be laid at the feet of the last administration.

The center has been betrayed pretty much right down the line, most glaringly in the area of health insurance reform and they're furious about it.

Whether this will lead to the election of a conservative carpetbagger more suited to Miss. than Mass. remains to be seen.

Just be aware that when the center is betrayed, they react badly and without logic.

[DJ13]

4. The angst, the racism wouldnt be a factor if

Obama had made Main street more of a priority than HCR.

Getting people (regular folks, not the wealthy and Wall street) back on their feet should have his first priority.

After that he should have tackled HCR.

Alleviating the economic anxiety would have smoothed the path for acceptance of mandatory insurance which Obama seems to want more than anything else in the "reform".

[TxRider]

10. And more of a priority than Wall street

But yeah, people are more worried about their immediate needs, a job, food, a roof... than HCR.

[NightWatcher]

5. if he'd throw us a bone or two, we'd repeat our efforts from last year this year

I agree, Cali

Many of us simply feel as though we've been forgotten after our efforts to get him elected.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

6. I consider Republicans a white supremacist party of some sort, but...

I consider Republicans a white supremacist party of some sort, but I do not think a white Obama would be more popular.

I think a white Obama would be even more under attack, all things being equal.

This is a paradox... the RW is racist but they jumped the hate-shark with Clinton, Kerry, Hillary and Gore. They have no higher level of hate to acheive then their usual.

Meanwhile independents LIKE Obama, though they would probably vote him out.

Obama is more popular than approved. He is more liked than ANY of his policies. Kind of like Reagan in that way.

Taken altogether I think race is close to a wash... it sharpens some hate but also softens some attitudes.

[cali]

9. I think race is a huge complex issue that can hardly be overstated

and I know we've seen a shitload of race based attacks on him. The birther thing for example, and the appalling racist emails that we've seen over and over, but as I said it's more than that and sum is larger than its parts.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. I disagree. I think it's more a reflection of voter disgust at the establishment.

Which covers the spectrum from left to right. The government seems incapable of solving problems in any substantial way and seems stuck on tinkering rather than "change". The system itself has become morbidly ossified and inflexible.

The current crop of politicians are sticking with the methods they are accustomed to. The ones that have worked, sometimes, in the past, to restore confidence in a corrupt system. The method is to blame everyone, and everything, but themselves. Followed by the "if only" rationalizations to excuse their failures.

[Goldstein1984]

14. Race is certainly a factor for the Teabaggers, and probably

even for mainstream Republicans.

But I doubt that race has anything to do with the alienation of Progressives. That is a legitimate response to real issues.