Well, fact is, the GOP was bound to pick up seats; if nothing else, it was a midterm and the Dems have the White House. It was a question of how MANY, and liberal disgust and disillusionment had at least as much to do with that as losing independents. Of course, we view Obama a bit differently, but I don't think he's far enough left (given that he's left of center AT BEST) to have truly alienated independents with that. Main thing alienating them was that nothing's changed and they're losing hope, for which I can hardly blame them.

Long before the luncheon though Obama and Reid were trying to cozy up to Lieberman (who really ought to be honest about which party he's in, but I could say the same of most Dems) and Olympia Snowe (I still like her idea of having a public option that only kicks in in states where insurance enrollment is <95% after a year; if we don't NEED a public option there's no reason to spend money on it, but either way that would've settled the question of whether it was needed once and for all, and actually motivated private insurers to lower premiums and deductibles). By the time he got around to conferencing with Republicans the pooch had been screwed. Not that it mattered; Republicans were so committed to negotiating in good faith that they wanted a pledge to scrap the bill and hold the conference in secret (the very thing they criticized about Hillarycare in '93) before they'd even agree to show. Talk about hectoring the opposition; other than the Snowe amendment (which never materialized because she wouldn't vote for the bill even with it added) and "tort reform will fix everything" has ANY Republican ANYWHERE suggested ANY healthcare reforms? Or is it still just "there's nothing wrong with the healthcare system that tort reform won't fix"? Maybe the next time Republicans suggest a tax cut Dems should come back with "that's a great idea, and if we just guarantee everyone a college education that will accomplish this goal so important to both parties"....