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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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 PEGGY NOONAN 
13

Voters Punished Obama, Dems for Going Deaf

Election should be a wake-up call for out-of-touch White House

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(Newser) – The Democratic Party should view its walloping in Tuesday's election as an opportunity to start listening before it's too late, writes Peggy Noonan. The Democrats have been focusing on the wrong issues since they gained power last year and that explains the huge swing to the Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey, Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal, dismissing the New York special election as "too messy."

Voters care a lot more about the impact the recession is having on their lives than about any big health-care package, writes Noonan, a fact that appears to have passed President Obama and his yes-men by. "What happened Tuesday isn't a death knell, but it is a fire alarm," Noonan writes. "Something's wrong, fix it, change course. Show humility. Bow to the public."

President Barack Obama listens to a question while attending the White House Tribal Nations Conference yesterday.
President Barack Obama listens to a question while attending the White House Tribal Nations Conference yesterday.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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This White House has gotten bad at listening. It paid the price for that on Tuesday. - Peggy Noonan

Both states hired new governors. The good news for the GOP is that they hired Republicans. The bad news is that if the Republicans don't make progress, they'll fire them too. - Peggy Noonan

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OFF THE GRID
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13 comments
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SilenceDogood
Nov 6, 09 5:44 AM CST
Obama, Pelosi and Reid show humility? More likely narcissism, more campaign speeches, more patronizing rhetoric and a deaf ear. Reply
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-1
geneparmesan
Nov 6, 09 5:49 AM CST
'Show humility, bow to the public'...just like the Repubs did after the 08 election?...except in 08, a vast majority voted, now the Repubs want the Dems to bow to pressure from the loud minority because 2 states lost governerships(traditionally a really weak political position)? sure thing, we'll get right on that...drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Reply
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+4
IN RESPONSE:
riffran
Nov 6, 09 6:07 AM CST
and THAT is the very reason both sides lose at one time or another...either complacency or arrogance.....the PEOPLE can be a fickle prospect......
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+4
IN RESPONSE:
geneparmesan
Nov 6, 09 7:37 AM CST
thats not arrogance, its a fact. The Repubs never gave Obama a chance and were slamming him before he even took office and have been on him ever since. Its been 10 months, what changes do people realistically expect to have taken place? What has changed in the rhetoric on the right since Day 1? nothing. Are we supposed to change our minds because they keep repeating the BS? Obama did change the worlds view of the USA overnight. But as we know, Repubs are the arrogant ones when it comes to considering how our policies might affect the rest of the world.
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+1
Szi
Nov 6, 09 6:00 AM CST
The gabillions of dollars handed out to prevent "economic collapse"? I'm always amused that when the issue is healthcare, it's branded "socialist". When it comes to banks, etc, it isn't. Maybe if the trillion dollars given to incompetent and greedy execs were diverted to healthcare (not health insurance companies), a lot of new training and associated careers could be made available, helping to end the recession. Reply
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+6

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