THIS JUST IN - AT 10:10 A.M. ET:  Be assured that editors and reporters worked hours to come up with this insightful, breaking-news headline in today's Washington Post:

Obama's Spending Plans May Pose Political Risks

Yeah, I'll buy that. The Post goes on to say:

After enjoying months of towering poll numbers, legislative victories and well-received foreign policy initiatives, the White House has become increasingly concerned that President Obama's spending plans, which would require $9 trillion in government borrowing over the next decade, could become a political liability that defines the 2010 midterm elections.

I'd quibble over the "well-received foreign policy initiatives."  By whom?

But the rest is accurate.  "Issue" polls show increasing resistance to President Obama's programs.  He went ahead with the takeover of GM and Chrysler in the face of clear, strong public opposition.  If his policies work, and the economy improves substantially, the American people will probably forgive him.  But if it doesn't, he and his party will be vulnerable to a Republican attack next year, assuming someone does the attacking.

Results from a Gallup survey released last week show that although more than six in 10 Americans approve of Obama's overall job performance, fewer than half say they approve of how he is handling the deficit and controlling federal spending. The poll also shows a decline from the previous month in the percentage of Americans who approve of Obama's handling of the economy, although a majority still does.

Even Democrats are starting to ask very public questions.  Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said:

"People know we have an overall situation here that doesn't add up."

If Americans agree with that, and if they add a foreign policy that doesn't add up either, unless you're a hostile country, the Democratic Party can be looking at unexpected lean years.

June 14, 2009