I think right now the key midterm issue is the budget deficit. This is a sign that Democrats are not in control of the message. People have become afraid that the government is "spending too much," and the Republicans are successfully capitalizing on that fear.
The big shock that got this going was the report last year of a $1.4 trillion deficit for the 2009 budget year. The entire conservative machine then let loose with a barrage, repeated over and over, that "Obama tripled the deficit." Did I say it was repeated over and over? And, of course, a trillion-dollar deficit means the debt will increase by $10 trillion over 10 years so they can say that "Obama's budgets increase the debt $10 trillion." This set in motion a dynamic that drives Republicans toward capturing a number of seats, possibly even the House and/or Senate.
Conservative propaganda outlets like the Heritage Foundation published charts like this one, titled "Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures":
And this one, reflecting what this means for debt accumulation:
Both charts, and the accompanying message have been everywhere, in newspapers, op-eds, letters-to-the-editor, radio, TV, blogs, everywhere.
But here's the thing. Basic math: A budget year that ends 8 months into a President's first year wasn't that President's budget. 2009 was Bush's last budget.
Paul Krugman makes the case that big government deficits saved the world. He says that our economic problems were actually worse than what we encountered in the 1930's, and the reason we haven't spiraled down the drain was that Obama's stimulus package picked up the slack in demand and kept even more people from being laid off, even more companies from going under, even more financial institutions from collapsing.
Aside from the deficits I can't even imagine where we would be today without FDIC insurance on bank accounts, or unemployment benefits. I think everyone with money in a bank would have lost it. And just imagine how it would be for the unemployed. (Well, actually we're on the edge of finding out about that because unemployment is running out for a lot of people...)
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