Second Chance

The Obama administration (a.k.a. the smartest guys in the room) received a clear message yesterday at about 10:00pm. The voters of the bluest of blue states elected a unknown Republican politician who ran his senate campaign explicitly against the Obama administration’s policies.

Jeff Jacoby of The Boston Globe suggests that it may be a blessing is disguise for the President:

But Brown and the voters of Massachusetts have killed ObamaCare. In so doing they have provided the president a priceless second chance to adjust his political course, move toward the center, and deliver at least some of the bipartisan cooperation that was at the heart of his once-enormous appeal. If Obama seizes the opportunity that Massachusetts and its senator-elect have given him, the brightest days of his presidency may be still to come.

Jay Cost addresses President Obama’s response when he writes:

Barack Obama is going to hold his office for the next three years regardless of whatever happens in congressional elections in November, regardless of how well he governs, regardless of where his job approval numbers go. Let's hope that this untested, young, inexperienced fellow the country elevated to the highest office in the land has the good sense to recognize the message the Bay State sent last night, to understand that messages of similar intensity will be sent in November, and to direct his staff to make necessary changes.

The question is – will the smartest guys in the room take advantage of this opportunity and make the necessary changes? Will they abandon extreme leftist ideology and govern from the center? Will they recognize that big government programs, although widespread already, are anathema to most of us in the Center? Will they stop trying for a big win, and try instead to solve problems incrementally with bipartisan input?

That’s what those of us in the Center want, and we’re the ones who decide who wins or loses elections.

Don’t believe me? Ask Martha Coakley.