As election season heats up, Democrats battle grim prospects

[onehandle]

But many experts believe that there is little that the president can do at this point to salvage the situation. "The numbers are eye-catching. Republicans are dramatically gaining in all categories," University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato told McClatchy Newspapers. "It's generated by a rotten economy and a strong conservative reaction against President Obama."

And Republicans know they have hit a vein with their attacks on the president’s economic policies. Recently House Minority Leader John Boehner suggested that the President fire his economic team. "President Obama's agenda represented 'change' once, but now it is time for him to change course, abandon his job-killing policies, and find himself a new economic team," said Boehner in a statement issued Friday after the Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate had hit 9.6 percent for August.

Worried Democrats are pushing the president to focus far more sharply on the economy as the elections near. Aides have packed his schedule with events this week, starting with a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee. On Wednesday he’ll be in Cleveland, where he is expected to propose several new measures aimed at spurring job growth, including a reduction in taxes for businesses that invest in research and development. Of course, it’s far from clear that he’ll have enough support in Congress to win passage of the measures—and even if he does, it’s far too late to change the trajectory of the economy by November. Still, Democratic strategists hope the moves will at least convince voters that the Administration is doing all it can to get things moving again.

Going into the summer, it seemed that the real challenge for Democrats was to prevent sure defeat from turning into outright disaster. But the most recent polls suggest that they have failed at the task.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_excl/ynews_excl_pl3552

[MannyGoldstein]

1. DLC=Democrats Lose Congress

History shows it's true in all six elections run by the DLC.

[Exilednight]

6. Yep, and those that don't learn from history are bound to repeat it. n/t

[jaxx]

2. That pic wasn't on the article. The pic there was Obama and Barrett.

Unrec for promoting the GOP.

The related articles are also pro GOP.

No sale.

[depakid]

5. It is nevertheless accurate

and the administration and "leadership" in the Senate bear the lions share of the blame- right alongside those who back anything they do or say without a second thought.

It's not like this wasn't foreseeable all along- from January 2009. And again and again.

[onehandle]

7. I believe that photo narrates 'grim prospects' very well.

I would get used to the idea of an orange man with a gavel.

[Kdillard]

3. Really this has been the media narrative from day one and

they are looking forward to it and it appears that some dems are doing the same thing.

[still_one]

4. What is pathetic is why aren't the Democrats going on the attack? They should have been doing this

6 months into the new administration after realizing that the repukes were not going to work with them