Obama's Stunning Turnaround

Voters who flocked to the Republican banner seven weeks ago are probably scratching their heads, wondering, "Who really won in November?" After handing the president and Congressional Democrats the worst drubbing in more than half a century, they can only watch in disbelief as President Barack Obama has reeled off a series of unexpected victories. A new stimulus bill, repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," and now START -- who would have believed that this shirt-tail session of Congress would have been so triumphant? They call it "lame duck" but it was anything but lame. What happened? One answer, I would submit, is that the president and his team found a better approach to governing: Instead of relying on the Democratic caucus in each chamber to deliver, they built up coalitions of their own that swayed public opinion in their direction and gave them leverage in Congress.