Serenity at the White House? Mark Shields says that's because Obama's not on the ballot this November. Reagan lost 26 seats in his first mid-term and got re-elected. Bill Clinton lost 53 seats and got re-elected.
David Brooks says it's because the White House is cohesive. But he also says the White House doesn't get it.
I say, the White House gets it. They're just focused on the work at hand, which is more than other administrations have faced in quite some time. I think at Obama's core is the belief that if they do the work, the rest will take of itself. Contrary to the popular belief that running the nation is a political sport, the nation's problems are so serious that the Obama administration doesn't really have any other choice than to keep at it.
