For those that can see past the noise of the usual media pundits, an amazing sight is beginning to be revealed.
Fast on the heels of the "win" that O-man received in the passage of the healthcare bill, defeats are building every day.
Instead of seeing a bounce in his popularity and "favorable" ratings, the O-man continues to slip in the polls measuring the American public's opinion of him and his job performance.
Instead of receiving warm welcomes and congratulatory slaps on the backs, the dedicated disciples of Queen Nancy and Whiney Harry are getting jeers, negative comments, and worse from the folks at home.
If any of them had cared to look at a bit of history, they would have seen clearly that this is what happens when the elected ignore the will of the electorate.
This morning, that pillar of intellectual and moral integrity, the ardent pro-life Democrat Bart Stupak, decided to hang it up and announced he wouldn't run again.
You remember Stupid... er, Stupak... the guy who for decades had represented real integrity in the abortion battle, and then sold it and himself out for a few cheap earmarks when subjected to Chicago-style "discussions" with the O-man and his lieutenants.
At a press conference in his home district in Michigan, Stupak attributed the exertion of traveling back and forth from Washington to his sprawling Upper Peninsula district as a primary reason for his retirement.
That's right, it's now gotten just too exhausting to take a two hour plane trip home.
Or maybe, it's just too exhausting dealing with the folks at home and trying to explain how and why he became just another unprincipled politician.
Maybe the abuse from his constituents is even greater than the abuse from his political leadership.
Either way, Stupid is toast.
Republicans believe that other anti-abortion Democrats, like freshman Reps. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) and Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Pa.), will also face serious trouble because of their support for the health care legislation without strict anti-abortion provisions.
Add in the Dems who are either retiring or leaving office for other reasons, like Berry (Arizona), Bayh (Indiana), Snyder (Arizona), Ellsworth (Indiana), Malancon (Louisiana), Moore (Kansas), Gordon (Tennessee), Tanner (Tennessee), Baird (Washington), Sestak (Pennsylvania), Hodes (New Hampshire), and Delahunt (Massachusetts) among others, and you start to see the O-man's real problem/
He's losing his mandate, his support, and his majorities.
It was only fifteen months ago that the O-man swept regally into office with the greatest Congressional majorities in both houses in modern history.
He was annointed, unstoppable, and acted like it.
And today, his Presidency is in shambles.
His foreign policy has America at odds with historic allies around the world, and appeasing enemies to the point where they view him as a clown performing for their amusement.
His economic policy has America facing unemployment of more than 10% with deficits and national debt of unimaginable and unmanageable scope.
His base continues to erode, as his policies increase the anger of the liberals, the unions, the moderates, and the conservatives.
And, his approval ratings continue to chase those of Congress in a race to the bottom.
Mickey Kaus is a principled liberal who supports health care reform, a man who, while partisan, can also view things with some objective perspective.
He observes: "Lots of intellectual effort now seems to be going into explaining Obama's problems resulting from health care as the inevitable product of larger historic and constitutional forces ... but in this case there's a simpler explanation: Barack Obama's job was to sell the health care reform plan to American voters, and he failed."
"He continues to fail in selling his other agenda items, because he is out of touch with the populace, and refuses to listen to Congressional members of his own party."
"He listens only to his "yes men" ,,, Pelosi and Reid ... and they're more out of touch than he."
The O-man failed because the utter implausibility of his central promise -- expanded coverage at lower cost -- led voters to conclude that it would lead ultimately to more government, more taxes and more debt.
More broadly, the Democrats continue to fail because, thinking their created "economic emergency" would give them the political mandate and legislative window, they tried to impose a far left-wing agenda on a center-right country.
The people said "No", expressing themselves first in spontaneous demonstrations, then in public opinion polls, finally saying "Hell No" in elections -- Virginia, New Jersey and, most emphatically, Massachusetts.
And now the soldiers in the O-man's own army are deserting in droves.
How bad is it?
Attempting to change his mind, President Barack Obama called Stupak on Wednesday and asked him not to retire.
Stupak, also resisted entreaties from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Dingell, the ranking member of the Michigan State delegation, and even Harry Reid is said to have had a shot at disuading him.
So, to what does the O-man turn now, when even Chicago style thuggery won't work?
He may have won the battle and gotten healthcare passed, but winning the war is looking less and less likely.
And with his majorities widely expected to be gone after the midterms, even his Democrat followers are facing a Pyrrhic victory.
"Where men build on false grounds, the more they build, the greater the ruin" ---- Hobbes
"My country can never again afford the luxury of another such success." ---- Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
