Dems Will Have to Play the Obama Card

On January 25, 2010 Obama dismissed any connection to the Dem massacre of 1994 with this statement:

‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’

Well, Obama may be all they have left:

Democrats are riding the back of President Barack Obama in a last-lap attempt to contain damage in the midterm elections, and for good reason: Bruised though he may be, the president remains the best asset Democrats have.

In fact, Mr. Obama may be the least of his party's problems right now. He remains decidedly more popular than his party's congressional leaders, individually or collectively. Beyond that, many of the Democratic Party's current political woes can be traced to the tactics and decisions of its congressional wing.

Which isn't to say that the president can or will represent a savior for his party in this season of discontent. The man who turned "hope" into a rationale for an entire presidential campaign has struggled mightily to rekindle it two years later. And Republicans say they've found that Mr. Obama's visits around the country, even if they energize lethargic Democrats, also raise intensity among core Republicans who dislike the president the more they are reminded of him.

If Obama had an actual message of hope and positivity he might actually be a game-changer for the Dems. But so far all he's doing is whining about his critics and using the same old dumb analogies about cars in a ditch. It's not an attractive message.