The question for me is not what finally got the attention of the voters. It's what was blinding them in the five years previous. But I think I know the answer, and we've discussed it here before. All of Obama's other economy-killing, job-destroying, debt-accumulating policies were plain to those a) were paying a lot of attention; b) had some understanding of basic economics . . . in other words, not a Keynesian and not a substance-challenged mainstream journalist. But when you eliminate everyone who fails to qualify for both A and B, you're not left with that many people. So Obama could be wreaking havoc on everything while spinning things with the help of the media to make it look like nothing is his fault.
ObamaCare destroys his cloaking because everyone who sees their premiums soar or their plan get cancelled knows exactly why it happened, so suddenly even the most oblivious individual smacks himself on the forehead and understands that Obama's policies don't work. And the polls reflect it, as the Washington Post reports:
On several key measures, Obama has lost significant ground to his Republican opponents in Congress. On the question of who is seen as better able to handle the country’s main problems, Obama and Republicans are tied at 41 percent. A year ago, the president’s advantage was 15 points and at this stage in 2010 it was still five points.
Obama also has lost the lead he enjoyed on who could better deal with the economy. Today Republicans are at 45 percent to Obama’s 41 percent. Last year at this time, it was Obama at 54 percent and congressional Republicans at 36 percent. A 26-point Obama advantage a year ago on who would better protect the middle class has fallen to just six points in the latest survey.
He has lost ground on these measures among women, liberals and younger Americans — key members of his winning electoral coalition.
The president’s overall approval rating stands at 43 percent, while disapproval is at 55 percent. Those numbers are virtually identical to a poll taken a month ago. At this time last year, 54 percent approved of Obama’s overall performance and 42 disapproved. Even after the huge losses his party suffered in the 2010 midterms, Obama’s approval rating was higher, at 49 percent, than it is today and was slightly more positive than negative.
What the public still doesn't fully understand is that every single problem ObamaCare has (save for the web site dysfunction) had was predicted by conservatives going all the way back to the original debate over the bill. People losing their coverage. People's premiums going up. People losing their doctors. Doctors leaving their practices. We're still waiting for the fulfillment of other predictions, like interminable waiting periods and, of course, the rationing that will vindicate Sarah Palin.
But so far every single problem that has manifested was foretold by conservatives who understood that you can't meddle in markets like ObamaCare does and expect not to cause the market reactions that are both obvious and inevitable. Conservatives would say, look, you can't mandate everything your mandating and not have premiums go up. It's impossible. The left and the media would respond with "fact-checks" saying, hey, it's not in the bill that premiums will go up. And conservatives would just shake their heads.
Once the public really understands that conservatives warned about all this, and the Democrats and the media ignored it, you'll start to see those who-do-you-trust-more numbers move even further in the Republican direction. ObamaCare is killing the Democrats because it's the most clear evidence yet that everything they believe about the power of big government is wrong.
