Politico, who always shorts Democratic Party Prospects, is saying that the Democrats’ chances of retaking the house are not good, and they uncork this one:

Now, resigned to the likelihood that the president will be a down-ballot drag in many races and absent signs of an electoral wave on the horizon, Democrats are scaling back their expectations.

(emphasis mine)

I tend to think of Politico as a bunch of shallow inside the beltway lizard brains (as in medulla oblongata), but they nailed it here.

Obama is a huge drag on the ticket, and the 2010 results, which were a reversal of historical proportions were the direct result of nationalizing the election and making Obama the issue.

I’m beginning to think that the eventual Republican nominee will have to do the equivalent of, “putting half a dozen children on a spit, and toasting them at the flame that comes out of their mouth,” to paraphrase Christopher Fry, in order for Obama to win.

Luckily for him, all the ‘Phants seem intent on doing this.