Congressional elections around the corner

Today's was a great show on the upcoming US elections.
The weak state of the U.S. economy continues to drive interest in and the direction of the election.   If unemployment was back at NRU around 4-5% and GDP was growing modestly, I believe the Democrats would win easily. The average person links satisfaction with government overwhelmingly to current job and career satisfaction, and with Obama's relatively recent election the Congressional elections would be in the bag. But that's not the case, and voters worldwide have gotten rid of incumbents because they're willing to believe that a change, any change, is better than maintaining the status quo.  Republicans understand this and with nothing to lose they are intent on using extreme language and diversionary tactics to win votes. Democrats refuse to make waves by employing Republican tactics, and are letting Congress slip out of their hands. 

Republicans see the election as a battle to be won, and winning Congress is the sole objective so that Obama can be defeated in 2012. Democrats seem to be more genuinely interested in governing for the people, and are not willing to sacrifice their self respect in order to win.  Republican tactics are proving successful and they rationalize their lack of shame by being the ones in power, while Democrats wring their hands and complain about dirty politics.  If the Democrats continue to seek the high ground they need to rely on a successful economy, and failing that for the next several years, they need to fight fire with fire. Unfortunately, their platform appeals to the well meaning public, and the Republican message attracts the unsatisfied public, which is likely the majority.  If the economy remains poor then I still expect Obama to be re-elected, but the U.S. government will become increasingly dysfunctional as the economy is used as a pawn in the Congressional election game.  Today, the GOP obstructs measures that will help the economy and create jobs, but simultaneously blames the Democrats for not doing enough.  The Dems could push through legislation, but fear of bad press. That's how I define "dysfunctional."

The American middle needs a moderate version of the Tea Party so that they can legitimately "reclaim their country. "  The Tea Party has no clue about who they want to reclaim the country from, but in this case it's clear to me that political and media extremists have done the hijacking.  Obama seems intent on restoring decency to the Presidency and Democratic Party, but he really needs to wait for a booming economy because his vocal opponents understand that the large, disctontented public is vulnerable to extreme messages. Some FDR and JFK politicking would help their cause immensely.