New survey data shows that people who identify themselves as conservatives outnumber people who identify themselves as liberals in all fifty states, despite the fact that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in thirty states. Having followed national politics closely for thirty years, this does not surprise me. Reagan won a landslide in 1980 because millions of registered Democrats voted for him. They were conservative, working class white folks by-and-large, disgusted by the weakness and incompetence of Jimmy Carter. While the composition of the nation's population is somewhat different today, the fact remains, and this survey provides evidence for the contention, that this is still a center-right country politically. I suspect that means we will see a backlash against our liberal President and his liberal allies in Congress at the next opportunity, which will happen the first Tuesday of November, 2010.

Peggy Noonan has some thoughts on why the political fortunes of the President seem to be in reverse.

Charles Krauthammer believes the big reason why Obama's health insurance reform plans are falling apart is because his rhetoric about lowering costs does not match the reality of the various plans being generated in Congress.

Robert Kuttner thinks the President's plans are stalled because he refuses to let his Progressive allies fight back.

As I have written and said in the past, the reason the President is losing ground is because he cannot actually reform the system without taking something away from someone, whether it is the benefits being paid to the recipients of care or the income being received by those who provide the care, or the profits of the insurance companies. There will be winners and losers, and everyone fears that they will be in the losers camp. That is a prescription for failure, which is why I still believe nothing of any real substance will be passed on this issue.