If the first full week of the new decade is any indication of what's in store for Democrats, then they're in for a bumpy ride. The White House and intelligence agencies are taking a beating for the blunders that led to the botched Christmas day bombing plot of Northwest flight 253.
Two senior senators announced they're not seeking reelection in 2010. Two gubernatorial candidates (one in Colorado, the other in Michigan) also gave their political swan songs. And then there's December's newly released unemployment numbers: another 85,000 jobs lost to conclude 2009.
With just ten months left before voters head to the polls, Washington lawmakers had better find a way to jumpstart the economy and create jobs or else they'll find themselves out of work like the millions of Americans who've gotten pink slips in the recent recession.
Democrats are particularly vulnerable because they're the party in control, while Republicans stand to make gains. Democrats don't need a crystal ball to see that they're going to lose seats. Their only hope to fend off major losses is for an economic turnaround that'll put millions of Americans back to work, but that won't happen without effective policies.
According to a Rasmussen poll taken in December, 38% of Americans said they thought the stimulus plan actually has hurt the economy. Only 30% believed that it has helped. Democrats will have to do much better than that to make the case they're on top of the problem and that their policies are working.