American Morning
"Where's the Love?"
By Carol Costello and Bob Ruff
One full year after a President's inauguration is always a good time to take stock and ask, "How's he doing?"
By all accounts, the inauguration of the nation's first African American president was historic. We asked presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who wrote biographies of Jimmy Carter and Franklin Roosevelt, to assess what it was like at the start of the President Obama's term.
"He had a bit of a roll for a few months," says Brinkley, "…(and) had a crucial rubicon to overcome, to cross, and that was high expectations in the spring. He had run on change and "yes we can", and there was a feeling that this progressive movement was going to sweep into Washington, D.C."
As we know all too well, it hasn't worked out exactly that way so far.
The love and joy of the inauguration fell prey to federal bailouts, rising unemployment, and tea parties and rancor over health reform.
Jesse Jackson, founder and President of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition,told us "we thought that we were at a new moment and going to a new place, but the level of resistance has been historical and ugly and very divisive."
A leading voice of dissent, radio host Rush Limbaugh, who told a cheering CPAC gathering in late February : "What is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country's so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?"
Drew Westen, Emory University political psychologist and the author of "The Political Brain", was an Obama supporter during the campaign. Now he is critical of much of the President's performance, especially in his dealings with the Republican opposition.
Showdown in Massachusetts
Today voters are deciding who will fill the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat. The outcome could prove critical to health care reform. Tempers are hot in Massachusetts. CNN's Jim Acosta reports on the race that has turned ugly.
Massachusetts' critical seat
Today's election will fill the seat of the late senator Ted Kennedy but in the bluest of blue states, polls show the state's attorney general, Democrat Martha Coakley, trailing her Republican challenger, State Senator Scott brown. A GOP win would mean the Democrats will lose their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate and jeopardize President Obama's health care reform plan. CNN senior political analyst and former presidential adviser, David Gergen spoke with CNN's John Roberts Tuesday.
Who will get Kennedy's seat?
The irony in the Massachusetts election is a seat that was occupied for nearly 50 years by Ted Kennedy, the "liberal lion" of the Senate who helped champion health care reform on Capitol Hill, could go to a Republican candidate who's vowing to stop President Obama's plan. CNN political analysts, Jennifer Donahue and John Avlon spoke with CNN's Kiran Chetry Tuesday.
Swing voters will decide Kennedy seat
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of the forthcoming "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/29/avlon.john.art.jpg caption=" John Avlon says the too-close-to-call Massachusetts race is hinging on the choice made by independent voters."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
(CNN) - On Tuesday, the eyes of the political world will be turned to Massachusetts where an unexpectedly close special election is being held to determine who will succeed Ted Kennedy in the Senate.
Conventional wisdom labels Massachusetts a liberal bastion, but this stereotype misses the mark. In fact, there are more independents in Massachusetts than Democrats or Republicans.
Take a look at the numbers: There are roughly 2.1 million independent voters in Massachusetts, 1.5 million Democrats, and 500,000 Republicans. Yes, Democrats far outnumber Republicans in the Bay State - especially in Boston - but there are more independents than Democrats and Republicans combined.
This is the key to understanding why the race between Republican State Sen. Scott Brown and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, is so close. It reflects a broader dynamic occurring in American politics: Independents are the largest and fastest growing segment of the electorate.
There are now 11 states like Massachusetts, where independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans outright. Winning independents is the key to winning any election - and right now, independents are angry at the Democrat-controlled congress.
Republican looks to pull off huge upset in Mass.
What happens at the polls tomorrow in Massachusetts could affect the entire nation and President Obama's future domestic agenda. That's why he was in Boston yesterday, trying to recapture the energy from his 2008 campaign.
Voters will go to the polls to choose between Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley and Republican state Senator Scott Brown. They're fighting for a seat Senator Ted Kennedy held for 46 years.
And there is no guarantee, even in New England, which is known as the bluest of the blue, that a Democrat will fill it. Our Jim Acosta reports on this critical race.
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