Despite all the hype about sending a message to Washington about repealing the health care bill, Bush tax cuts, ect that actually was not the message.
According to exit polls, in fact, a majority of Americans do not favor repealing the Health Care Bill, and, in fact, about 1/3 think it should be expanded.
What Should Congress Do with the new heath care bill?
Expand it: 31%
Leave it alone: 16%
Repeal it: 48%
Undecided: 5%
The same thing is true for the Bush tax cuts.
Bush-Era Tax Cuts should be extended for...
All Americans: 39%
Familes Under $250,000: 37%
No one: 15%
Undecided: 9%
And, as previously mentioned, favorable/unfavorable ratings for Republicans were actually slightly worse for Republicans than Democrats.
Clearly the exit polls do show that for a reason that was unable to be uncovered via the poll, a majority of voters had an uneasy feeling about Obama.
Will Obama's Policies help or hurt the country?
Help: 43%
Hurt: 52%
Your House Vote Meant to express...
Support for Obama: 24%
Opposition to Obama: 37%
Obama not a factor: 37%
So, in other words, barely a majority are opposed to "Obama's policies," but a majority don't oppose his most recognizable legislative achievement (health care bill) or the the latest issue that he has been pushing hardest (repealing bush tax cuts).
We can talk all day about why Dems lost seats, but the first thing we should recognize is why they did not lose seats.