H2 Note: Never ASS-U-ME anything! The only reason Obama won in 2008 was GEORGE W. BUSH. The only reason he won in 2012 was because the Elitist Republicans REFUSED to give us a viable candidate.

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Obama on brink of worst successive midterm losses of any US president in 64 years


  • Obama's Democrats lost 63 seats in 2010, expected to lose five-12 next week
  • That would be a combined total of up to 75 seats in Congress
  • Harry Truman shed 55 House seats in 1946 and a further 28 in 1950
  • Obama also expected to lose between five and ten seats in the Senate


By Daniel Miller for MailOnline
Published: 05:43 EST, 31 October 2014

Barack Obama looks set to make history next week as the president with the worst successive results in midterm congressional elections in more than 60 years.

Obama's Democratic Party lost 63 House seats in 2010 and is expected to lose a further five to 12 when votes come in next week, although some speculators suggest the result could be even worse.

He stands to lose a combined total of somewhere between 68 to 75 House seats - the worst total of any two-term president since Harry Truman shed 55 House seats in 1946 and a further 28 in 1950 - a total of 83.



Call me a taxi: Obama looks set to suffer the worst successive midterm defeats of any US President in 60 years

The only glimmer of hope for Obama is that if he exceeds expectations he has a chance of beating the record of Republican Dwight Eisenhower, who lost a combined 66 House seats in 1954 and 1958.

By contrast George W Bush lost a combined 22 seats (30 in 2002 but up eight in 2006), Bill Clinton lost a combined 49 (54 in 1994 but up five in 1998 while Ronald Reagan lost a combined 31 (26 in 1982 and five in 1986).

And it doesn't get much better for Obama in the Senate where he expected to lose between five and ten seats next week, taking his combined losses to somewhere between 11 and 16 seats.

That would compare to a total of five seats for George W Bush, eight for Bill Clinton and seven for Ronald Reagan.
Eisenhower lost a total of 13 Senate seats in his two midterms and Truman a whopping 17.






Dwight Eisenhower, left, lost a combined 66 House seats in 1954 and 1958, while Harry Truman, right, shed 55 House seats in 1946 and a further 28 in 1950 - a total of 83

For the Republicans the big question next week is whether they can gain enough House seats to rival their post-World War II high water mark of 246.

The current breakdown is 233-199 in favor of the Republicans, with three vacancies.

Republicans have their eyes on states where Obama cruised to double-digit victories, with the Democrats fighting to cling on to the once friendly terrain of New York, California, Obama's native state of Hawaii, and his adopted state of Illinois.

'We're in trench warfare. I'm not going to sugarcoat it,' said New York Rep. Steve Israel, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.



Bogeyman: Obama's slumping approval ratings have been a drag on Democrats, and he has kept a relatively low profile during the campaign period

Obama, whose slumping approval has been a drag on Democrats in the fiercely-fought congressional elections, has limited his campaign appearances mostly to races for governors in states where he remains popular.

In Maine he is keeping his distance so as not to get drawn in to the current controversy over the state's Ebola quarantine policies and the nurse who has defied them.



Hot issue: The treatment of Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox is threatening to unseat the Democrats in Maine

His appearance there on Thursday landed him at the epicenter of a debate between the federal government and several states over how health care workers returning from Ebola-stricken nations should be monitored.

The White House has pushed back against overly restrictive measures, including proposals for travel bans or isolation measures adopted by some states.

Obama, who has been praising health care workers who have volunteered to fight Ebola in West Africa, had no plans to visit with Kaci Hickox, the nurse who worked with Ebola victims in Sierra Leone and is now challenging Maine's requirement that she isolate herself for 21 days.

Hickox returned to the U.S. last week but has shown no symptoms of the disease.

She has been under what the state has called a voluntary quarantine in remote northern Maine, but on Thursday she went on a bike ride with her boyfriend.

The elections feature races for governor in 36 states, although those contests have been overshadowed by competitive congressional races.

The fight for control of the Senate is the biggest prize in the midterm elections, with Democrats struggling to fend off a Republican takeover.

The Republicans need to pick up six seats to take control of the Senate, and they are widely expected to expand their majority in the House of Representatives.

That would give them control of Congress for the two years Obama has left in office.