Democrats face the unthinkable: A midwestern meltdown

From Ohio to Iowa, there’s a yawning stretch of heartland states whose citizens voted for Obama and congressional Democrats in 2008, but who have lost patience waiting for an as-yet undelivered economic revival that was first promised in 2006, and then two years later. Now, they look set to stampede toward the out-of-power party…

“There’s two major factors. One is that there are a lot of swing voters, as well as a lot of Reagan Democrat voters, in the Midwest, and therefore I think the national mood hits harder,” said Saul Anuzis, the former Michigan Republican Party chairman. “And secondly you’re talking about record unemployment.”…

“When Obama was elected, it was almost like he was the second coming of a political Jehovah, who was somehow going to deliver us into the promised land,” said Bill Ballenger, the pundit behind Inside Michigan Politics. “And more and more things have happened that have disillusioned people.”