As published for Topic A on The Washington Post on November 3, 2009:

What do the Virginia and New Jersey elections mean for the naitonal stage?

I see two clear outcomes from Tuesday’s elections. First, campaigning against the past is over. Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey began the gubernatorial campaigns by trying to link Republican candidates with former President George W. Bush. Those efforts fell on deaf ears with voters, and that’s a message the Obama White House should heed. This will require a major rhetoric adjustment by the White House, but Americans are not interested in hearing about the past; they’re focused on the present and the future.

A second revelation is that Obama campaigning in all three major races apparently had no net effect on voters. I was surprised to see Democrats trumpeting exit polls showing that Obama was a “non-factor” in the New Jersey race for governor. To have a president Democrats expected to lead a transformational party realignment be so unpersuasive with voters despite his personal campaign appearances must be disappointing for the Democratic Party — and correspondingly uplifting for Republicans.

A “non-factor” president has real implications for the Obama agenda — on health care, climate, and spending in particular. Getting the Obama agenda through Congress requires a president who is feared and respected. Non-factors are neither.

Obama can still be formidable as a fundraiser for Democrats. The White House will still have the enormous advantages of the world’s loudest megaphone and Congress still has the ability to control the agenda. But the message Democratic candidates in competitive districts heard today is that issues matter far more to voters than either the past or Obama’s personal powers of persuasion.

Read the article here