Well, the people have spoken. I think it's mainly a statement that they don't want this healthcare plan to pass. With some tweaking (i.e. making it more cost-efficient, as Weltall stated), it could still be forced through, though the Republicans haven't been very cooperative about healthcare reform thusfar. Obama's had a rough first year, though if he couldn't get across to a Democratic majority in Congress, I don't see how McCain could've done any better.
That aside, there's still a chance he could get re-elected even if he backed down from healthcare reform. He's perhaps put too much of his focus on the healthcare reform plan when it isn't that pressing a matter to most Americans (nor is climate change, for that matter). More Americans are concerned about the state of the economy and job growth. They're also curious as to how Obama will handle the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama was elected due to the people's frustration with Bush, who received the blame for the late 2000's recession. As such, people were hoping that Obama would turn the economic crisis around, and so it would be in Obama's best interests if he shifted his focus there and away from healthcare. Clinton's healthcare plan was shot down a lot quicker back in 1993, and yet he managed to not only be re-elected, but he presided over one of the best economies this nation has ever seen (how much of that was his own doing is debatable and is a tangent I will not delve into).
So yes, I do think Brown's election in the country's most liberal state is a big "FU" from the American people to the Democratic party (and personally, I think this shift from party to party is getting retarded; a year ago, the American people despised the Republicans), but this does not necessarily spell the end for Obama. I can't imagine he'll still have his Democratic majority a year from now, but if he can realize that the American people simply don't want a costly healthcare reform plan that will, from their perspectives, only benefit a small minority of people (who desperately need coverage, I might add), then he has plenty of time to shift the focus of his presidency, win back some public appeal, and get re-elected (a weak Republican opponent would certainly help; a weak Democratic opponent is the only reason Bush narrowly won in 2004).
Obama was perhaps too much of a political maverick (ironic that I'm using McCain and Palin's term to describe their opponent) and is now realizing that a president can only do so much on his own. I will give him credit for one thing though: unlike Bush, he can actually admit to having made mistakes. (He hasn't specified what they are, but an admittance is more than we got from Bush.)
I do wonder how much of this has to do with lies from the right about healthcare reform (people's fear of death panels and nonsense like that), and I must say the tea party protesters are some of the most ignorant, bigoted, disgusting examples of human beings I've ever seen. It's impossible to say what was going through each person's head as he or she entered the voting booth though, so I won't hivemind everyone who voted for Brown into that category.
That aside, there's still a chance he could get re-elected even if he backed down from healthcare reform. He's perhaps put too much of his focus on the healthcare reform plan when it isn't that pressing a matter to most Americans (nor is climate change, for that matter). More Americans are concerned about the state of the economy and job growth. They're also curious as to how Obama will handle the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama was elected due to the people's frustration with Bush, who received the blame for the late 2000's recession. As such, people were hoping that Obama would turn the economic crisis around, and so it would be in Obama's best interests if he shifted his focus there and away from healthcare. Clinton's healthcare plan was shot down a lot quicker back in 1993, and yet he managed to not only be re-elected, but he presided over one of the best economies this nation has ever seen (how much of that was his own doing is debatable and is a tangent I will not delve into).
So yes, I do think Brown's election in the country's most liberal state is a big "FU" from the American people to the Democratic party (and personally, I think this shift from party to party is getting retarded; a year ago, the American people despised the Republicans), but this does not necessarily spell the end for Obama. I can't imagine he'll still have his Democratic majority a year from now, but if he can realize that the American people simply don't want a costly healthcare reform plan that will, from their perspectives, only benefit a small minority of people (who desperately need coverage, I might add), then he has plenty of time to shift the focus of his presidency, win back some public appeal, and get re-elected (a weak Republican opponent would certainly help; a weak Democratic opponent is the only reason Bush narrowly won in 2004).
Obama was perhaps too much of a political maverick (ironic that I'm using McCain and Palin's term to describe their opponent) and is now realizing that a president can only do so much on his own. I will give him credit for one thing though: unlike Bush, he can actually admit to having made mistakes. (He hasn't specified what they are, but an admittance is more than we got from Bush.)
I do wonder how much of this has to do with lies from the right about healthcare reform (people's fear of death panels and nonsense like that), and I must say the tea party protesters are some of the most ignorant, bigoted, disgusting examples of human beings I've ever seen. It's impossible to say what was going through each person's head as he or she entered the voting booth though, so I won't hivemind everyone who voted for Brown into that category.