Democrats in denial

As President Obama and his advisers begin to digest the shock of Tuesday's defeat in Massachusetts, and devise a way forward, it is clear they have accepted only so much culpability at this point and have yet to shake their denial.
 
Yesterday Robert Gibbs held his press briefing and made several television appearances, top adviser David Axelrod also made the rounds, and the president himself gave an interview to ABC News. All three acknowledged the anger Americans are feeling, and which helped Scott Brown (R) win the seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) in Massachusetts, just as it helped Republicans beat Democrats in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia in November.

 In attempting to spin and own the anger, Obama and his lieutenants talked up the economy and joblessness but not so much the way in which Democrats have governed. There was a lot of talk about how Obama heard all about the anger voters feel when he was a candidate and it was part of the reason he was elected. Boy, he thought voters were angry then.
 
There are many reasons Democrats lost Massachusetts, and glaring challenges and liabilities their candidate chose to ignore in what truly was a pathetic and apathetic campaign. Indeed President Obama and healthcare reform are both more popular than Martha Coakley in the Bay State, as I mentioned in my column this week, but national Democrats should have seen the power of more than 49 percent of unaffiliated voters in Massachusetts. They did not.
 
As they stare down the barrel of the midterm elections now just months away, Democratic leaders and President Obama need to know that — yes, it wasn't just about healthcare. And it wasn't just about unemployment. The fury voters will likely unleash on Democrats this fall is about more — the bailouts, backroom deals and bribes. The Senate bill can't pass the House with the Nebraska Medicaid carve out, and why should it?
 
Democrats can't create jobs, but they can change the way they do their jobs. Breaking out of their denial is the first step.
 
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