The federal treasury is not the only institution in Washington with a capital problem.  The resident in chief of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seems more likely today to get a warmer reception on Mark Levin's radio show, than he would in the most competitive congressional districts throughout the country.  

President Obama's political popularity, as seen in the most recent polls and surveys, combined with his inability to connect with voters deepest concerns and daily struggles, once a major strength of his, has made him a second rate surrogate as his party dispatches desperately needed assistance out on the campaign trail. Incidentally, this has been an issue for him since last years electoral failures for Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts.  

The cumulative weight of three major factors are behind the president's precipitous fall in popularity, and virtual impotence as a campaigner.  The most forceful charges made against him during the campaign in 2008 were; that he was a radical-leftist, ill-experienced narcissist.  Those attacks didn't work then, but are playing out on the national stage now.  These narratives have been substantiated by concrete examples of his actions as President, and voters are coming to the same conclusion; that all three charges are true.  

The president's record on stimulus spending, healthcare, cap and trade, card check, automotive bailouts, and tax policy bolster the charge by his critics that at heart, President Obama favors state-based (meaning government) vs free-market oriented solutions to our economic challenges.  His attitude toward wealth and who should have it, reinforce his active preference for the same western European socialism that most of Western Europe is rejecting today.  Simply put, he believes government is the answer and the individual is the impediment.  That doesn't sound like the American way to me.

On leadership, the president seems ill-equipped and even awkward in his role as well, president.  The ineptitude of his handling on issues related to the treat of terrorism to our national security, the legislative battle over healthcare reform, the management of the BP oil spill and now in this most recent national conversation centered around a mosque at ground zero reinforce his lack of executive leadership experience prior to serving in the White House.  If he wasn't so consumed with his own sense of self-worth, an argument could be made that Obama was better configured for a more parliamentary style of government, where he was more the first among equals rather than a chief executive.  

Though the stories of Obama as a narcissist precede his presidency, it is only on this stage that we really see the hubris he possessed that could have led an unaccomplished, half-term Senator to think he could be the "leader of the free-world." What started out as an asset; Obama as the cool, confident and charismatic transformational figure that was going to bring us hope and change, has now become the parody of man consumed with his teleprompter, the sound of his own voice and "whose butt he has to kick" to get what he wants.    

Look for the Democrats to continue to use the president to raise money. Ironically, that is the one thing he still seems to do well and the only area where congressional Democrats have demonstrated superiority.  It will unlikely effect the outcome of these midterm elections, but may keep the president away from Washington long enough to prevent him from doing anymore damage.    

September 3^rd and October 8^th may present the best insight on what’s going to happen on November 2^nd with better accuracy than any tracking poll or focus group.  These are the days that the Department of Labor will report the newest job numbers, and there is absolutely no doubt that they will reinforce the already melancholy outlook for the US economy.  GDP growth is anemic, consumer spending is stagnant, and job creation, especially in the private sector, is in a sort of paralysis.    

These variables already spell doom for the Democratic Party in the midterm, and President Obama’s poor approval ratings, the lowest in his tenure, already indicate a nation fatigued by the lack of progress on the economic front.  The loss of the House by the Democrats seems to have already crossed the threshold from possible to likely to inevitable. 

What remain unknown are the margin of the victory and the fate of the Senate.  Though it is mathematically more difficult for Republicans to win the Senate, the data released on the aforementioned dates could solidly shift the political landscape to change a likely 40+ net gain in the House to over 60 seats and a “close but no cigar” outcome in the Senate, into a Scott Brown victory on steroids. 

The magnitude of jobs and the economy on voter’s attitude and behavior can not be exaggerated.  Short of another terrorist attack, no other event will impact the midterm elections more than what happens on these two dates.  We’ll be watching.