Shock Brown win puts Obama reforms in doubt
Still, Obama grimly faced a need to both regroup and recoup losses yesterday, the anniversary of his inauguration, in a White House shaken by the realisation of what a difference a year made. The most likely starting place was finding a way to save the much-criticised healthcare overhaul he’s been trying to push through Congress.
In one of the country’s most traditionally liberal states, Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Coakley, the attorney general who had been considered a surefire winner until just days ago. Her loss signalled big political problems for Obama and the Democratic Party this November when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide. Brown, however, maintained yesterday that claiming the election was a referendum on Obama would be oversimplifying what had happened there. Nor, he said, was it merely a matter of voters rejecting Coakley. Asked if the election was a referendum on Obama, he replied: “No, it is bigger than that.
