One year on..

A year ago today Obama was inaugurated (inaugurations always happen on the 20th of Jan, even if it is a Sunday) and this morning he has been dealt an unpleasant anniversary present. The election of Scott Brown to the senate to represent Massachusetts, is a slap in the face for Obama, and the political equivalent of the tories winning a safe seat in Newcastle in a by election. It is interesting that Obama's approval ratings in the US are sinking fast (not that you would know if you watch the media in the UK, who still report on him as if he is the messiah) I suppose it not surprisingly bearing in the expectations beforehand whipped up by the media. I suspect he is going to turn into a one term president as his rhetoric becomes even more empty. He has not held a press conference, where journalists can ask him questions, since July, presumably in order to avoid tricky questions such as Afghanistan & and his failure to shut Gitmo, as promised, within a year of his inauguration. Last April an estimated 2 million people took to the streets of DC as taxpayers showed their unease his policies and their cost. His healthcare reforms, although widely popular within the DC Beltway, are going to cost the earth, not least because the bill has measures in it that are completely unrelated to healthcare, such as the $300M of Government money going to Louisiana in order to make sure that the senator from that state voted in favour of it. If you put yourself in the place of an average middle class voter then it is easy to see why they are not happy. Your average working American is going to see a huge rise in taxes in order to pay for healthcare, but if you have a decent job in the states you already get the equivalent of Bupa healthcare free of charge, or for a nominal charge, as part of your employment package. This healthcare in most cases carries on for life after you retire. 80% of Americans have private healthcare, so imagine being asked to support something which would reduce your personal healthcare from Bupa to the NHS but cost you more. There are alot of people in the states who are not happy with the situation and I suspect that the election of Scott Brown reflects that.