Obama’s election was heavily driven by the sudden onset of economic hard times; now he cannot really argue that we have recovered (at least not in a way most Americans can feel) and he can’t argue that a real recovery is just around the corner.

President Obama already knows he’s almost certainly going to be in a tough spot on the “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” question. But even worse for him, he now can’t argue that his policies just need a bit more time, and that 2013 will see the significant recovery Americans have been waiting for. The one indisputable message of the OWS/We Are the 99 Percent crowd is that economic opportunities are few and far between and that the basic goals of modern American life – getting a good education, finding a job, providing for their family, buy a house, being able to afford insurance and take care of one’s health – seem increasingly difficult or even impossible. Even Americans who have education, jobs, houses and health insurance see the daily coverage of the protests and are reminded of their own economic anxieties.