Mark Mellman

Back in July, I warned that some folks were attempting to misuse healthcare reform to restrict access to abortion. They have come a long way since then, endangering the vital struggle for healthcare — indeed, torpedoing reform is a key goal for many involved in this effort.

Last week, I asserted that Tuesday’s election would tell us precious little we did not already know. That prediction proved mostly, though not completely, correct.

By the time you read this, thousands of words will have been written about what Tuesday’s elections portend — not for the people of New Jersey, Virginia and New York’s 23rd congressional district, but for the fate of Democrats and Republicans in 2010. Where that analysis is not overdrawn, it will tell us little we do not already know.

In a republic such as ours, public policy is only loosely related to public opinion. Nonetheless, it is ironic that the most controversial element of healthcare reform with the public seems least controversial on Capitol Hill, while what is most controversial there is least controversial with voters.

With Democrats allegedly on the ropes and voters concerned about rising debt and reeling from growing unemployment, you might think Republicans would be sitting pretty. They aren’t — the Republican brand is in tatters — and Democrats should be grateful for the GOP’s political ineptitude.

Maybe it comes from long hours sitting in synagogue during the High Holydays; or perhaps it’s the death of distinguished neoconservative Irving Kristol or the appearance of a book by his fellow traveler Norman Podhoretz, Why Are Jews Liberals? — but the Jewish vote, though small, is attracting considerable attention.

Maybe it comes from long hours sitting in synagogue during the High Holydays; or perhaps it’s the death of distinguished neoconservative Irving Kristol or the appearance of a book by his fellow traveler Norman Podhoretz, Why Are Jews Liberals?— but the Jewish vote, though small, is attracting considerable attention.

Prophesies of midterm Democratic doom are being heard from every street-corner oracle, and from some real seers too. While the good times of 2006 and 2008 won’t keep rolling, Democrats would do better putting their noses to grindstones and producing important legislative victories than bewailing the predicted calamity.

Like wine turned to vinegar, the “good war” in Afghanistan has gone bad, creating a political minefield through which candidates will need to navigate carefully.

Two gaps are shaping the terrain for the healthcare debate.