IMO, the opinion expressed in the OP article ignores nearly all the polling data out there.
The issue is far greater than Obama.
The American voters have repudiated the conservatism of the Republican party.
And the Republican party has dug in its heels and insists on responding to its base rather than expanding its appeal. The more it does so, the more it refuses to be part of a bi-partisan solution to the many problems we face and the more the Independent swing voters will continue turn away.
It wont last forever, but it will last beyond Obama, regardless of his success or failure.
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If I were a Republican, this would be a wake-up all:
Quote:
The map shows party strength by state for 2008, ranging from states that can be considered solidly Democratic (a Democratic advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more) to those that can be considered solidly Republican (a Republican advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more). States in which the partisan advantage is less than 5 points in either direction are considered "competitive."
The political landscape of the United States has clearly shifted in the Democratic direction, and in most states, a greater proportion of state residents identified as Democrats or said they leaned to the Democratic Party in 2008 than identified as Republicans or leaned Republican.
As recently as 2002, a majority of states were Republican in orientation. By 2005, movement in the Democratic direction was becoming apparent, and this continued in 2006. That dramatic turnaround is clearly an outgrowth of Americans' dissatisfaction with the way the Republicans (in particular, President George W. Bush) governed the country.
With Democratic support at the national level the highest in more than two decades and growing each of the last five years, Republican prospects for significant gains in power in the near term do not appear great. But the recent data do show that party support can change rather dramatically in a relatively short period of time.
State of the States: Political Party Affiliation
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To pin their hopes for the future on the "cult of personality" or "celebrity status" and a subsequent repudiation of Obama is a pipe dream if the Republican party believes that they can regain the trust and support of the voters by clinging to their rigid failed policy positions and opposing one man, rather than demonstrating a willingness to build consensus and work together in a bi-partisan manner.