Obama faces uphill struggle

The Republican Party have taken control of the House of Representatives after a campaign against Obama’s agenda for government.

As the Democrats managed to cling on to the majority of votes in the Senate, The Republicans, fuelled by right-wing attacks on the presidency, managed to reassert themselves as a major force in American politics.

Just two years after the euphoria surrounding Obama's election, the Democrats lost 70 seats, leaving them with 178 in the House of Representatives. The Republicans gained 61, leaving them with a total of 255 seats, a House majority of 77 over the Democrats.

Disillusionment with the state of the American economy, the high rate of unemployment, and unpopular healthcare reforms persuaded many voters back to the Republicans. The success of populist political movement Tea Party was also an important factor, tugging public opinion back to its pre-Obama centre-right standing through a string of attacks aimed directly at the president.

Sarah Palin, a regular speaker at Tea Party events, and tipped to become the next Republican presidential candidate, persuaded the public to use this vote against Obama. She said: “They’re going to say, ‘you blew it, president Obama’. We gave you two years to fulfil your promise of making sure that our economy starts roaring back to life again – and instead I believe things are getting worse.”

Despite Obama being targeted by attacks from the right, his name did not appear on any ballot paper in elections for the Senate, Governors, and The House of Representatives.

The Tea Party are against Obama’s healthcare reforms and proposes lower taxes and smaller government.

However, many Democrats appear to feel that the Tea Party have more sinister motives than this. Speaking at a Christian Aid event in London, former Democrat presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson, said: “The Tea Party has a dual agenda; it’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There is talk of small government but there has been a very personal vilification of the president – challenging his birth, challenging his faith.”

Obama has taken responsibility for the Democrat’s loss. At a press conference following the defeat he said: "I’ve got to take direct responsibility for the fact we have not made as much progress as we needed to make."

He also suggested that he may have lost touch with American voters, admitting that, "In the rush of activity we sometimes lose track".

Obama now needs to get the American public back on his side if the Democrats are to earn another term in office.