GOP giddiness

According to right-wing columnist Byron York, Republicans are starting to have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. Even though the latest Washington Post-ABC poll still has Obama's overall job approval at 57 percent, he's losing ground on particular issues (health care reform), and the GOP is already moistening their undies over the possibility of regaining a House majority next year, in a not-so-instant replay of 1994. What's next after that ? Probably impeachment of Obama based on birther paranoia. Those zany Republicans... they can never get too much of a good thing.

Added 12:02 pm, same day: After I read the Washington Post article about its poll, it looks like the usual hardcore groups either love Obama or still hate him. Those are the 30 percenters on each end of the liberal/conservative continuum. The numbers are shifting back-and-forth among the 40 percent who make up The Great American Middle of the Road, aka independents, non-ideological voters, etc. In other words, the voters who kept W. in office eight years, and swept the GOP under the rug in 2008. This is the group that seems to go with the flow, since they don't depend on a hard-and-fast allegiance to a political party to get through the day and probably have more to do than worry about politics and sit in front of their PCs typing chatroom comments.

Since at least last winter, the news media have bombarded us with bad news about the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the death of Michael Jackson, and on and on. It's not hard to understand why the average Joe and Sally go through life with a generalized feeling of uneasiness. What'll go wrong next ? Making matters worse, we have the 30-percenters who despise Obama and the camel he rode in on constantly screeching in apocalyptic terms about the end of America as we've known it. Every screech, moan, whine, and bang on the pot makes headlines, as if the fundamental realities weren't already bad enough. When you add it all up, it makes the USA a pretty depressing place to live in, particularly for people who are influenced by the zeitgeist and lack the time or the inclination to study up on the facts.

Generally speaking, American voters have short attention spans and expect immediate gratification. They're being beaten over the head with end-of-the-world hysteria every day, and forced to wait for something good to happen. Maybe that creates an environment where Republicans are returned to power and maybe it doesn't, but it guarantees things won't be calming down anytime soon.