Obama’s Serious Situation

Out of the 50 American states, none are more democratic (in terms of support for Barack Obama’s political party) than liberal Massachusetts, land of the Kennedy clan.

During the 1972 presidential election, Massachusetts was the only state to vote for Democrat George McGovern, who lost resoundingly to Republican Richard Nixon.

None of the vacancies in Congress were as symbolic to the Democrats as the seat of Edward Kennedy, who passed away last year.

But in a surprising election on Wednesday night, a Republican who was practically an unknown to the great majority of the public, Scott Brown, was elected to take this vacancy.

The defeat of the Democratic adversary, Martha Coakley, who counted on the bold support of Obama, is the first major sign of deterioration of the political sphere in favor of the president. And could, from this point forward, significantly change the manner in which the presidency is conducted.

Kennedy’s seat was not the only loss for the Democrats. On the anniversary of the first year in office, Obama also lost the slim majority in the Senate.

His most ambitious project, reforming the healthcare system in the U.S., with a cost of $1 trillion over a decade, now faces serious risks of going under.

If this does in fact occur, there will be nothing of much significance left for Obama.

The economy continues in ruin, with unemployment at 10 percent (85,000 newly unemployed in December) and consumer credit (which represents 70 percent of the GDP in the country) continues to fall.

But the banks have begun to profit once again and are paying fat bonuses. Even the project to control these bonuses and to increase the regulation of the financial system is headed nowhere.

Democrat and Independent voters interviewed by local papers and news-channels in Massachusetts continually pointed to the economic situation, specifically unemployment, as the dominating factor of their having switched sides.

In his first 12 months in office, Obama also missed legitimate opportunities of putting the blame on the last administration, under George W. Bush, for the current economic mess. He was courteous and ingenuous with Bush and the Republicans, who would not have missed such an opportunity.

He even called the former president last week to help raise funds for the reconstruction of Haiti. The same Bush who shamefully failed in repairing the damage done by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.

In addition to the defeat on Wednesday, various House Democrats have decided not to seek re-election in the coming Senate election at the end of the year. Some who, because of their age and their many terms in the Senate, fear losing and being forced to end their political careers in defeat.

This is the way Barack Obama’s second year is beginning.

If the economic tides do not turn in 2010, the president could possibly be a “lame duck” for the remaining two years.