Remember how it felt with two years left in the Bush Administration?
Pummeled by six years of Bush / Chaney / Rumsfeld, we knew a month before the 2006 election that the electorate was shifting our way and that Congress would flip to the Democrats. Speaker Pelosi and then the Presidency!
But the elation passed with Barack Obama’s shaky start and the loss of the House in 2010. Lots of discussion on who to blame: an inept president, a malicious opposition, an omnipotent elite?
Relieved and reprieved when we won in ’12, we didn’t have to tolerate a Romney White House. But a Republican Senate now seems likely.
Let’s face it, with two years left in the Obama Administration, spirits aren’t high.
How do we reconcile the past six years?
It’s complicated and confusing:
Lots of frustration, disappointment and doubt mixed with important progress on – among other things – health care, climate change and gay rights.
I want to believe that Barack Obama’s election and re-election point to a fundamental shift in American values and that the “Obama era” will be considered “transformative.” His adversaries blamed for being mean, extreme and obstructive. A political realignment which enables meaningful change.
Hard to imagine under current circumstances.
Great if we could hold the Senate but – if not – brace yourself for the mischief of a Republican Congress and their devious plan to win the White House in ’16.
Then get ready boys and girls. Our best hope may be the next President Clinton.