We are all losers.

Barack Obama can't help but lose. Because he's a fair-minded liberal. Willing to become a pragmatist. For the sake of compromise. As a result, he alienates his base on the far left. And he even further alienates his staunch opponents on the far right. And these days, there isn't much of a political middle in America. And that's where Obama has ended up. In the middle. We have a sharply divided America. Extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. They want all or nothing. Everything on their agendas. Obama has tried to give each extreme a little bit of what they want. But he's constantly challenging them to come together. To reach a grand accord for the sake of the country. Somewhere close to middle ground. And neither side wants to budge. So there Obama sits. Dropping in the polls. With low approval ratings. Albeit, he's liked more than other politicians. Which isn't necessarily saying much. They're all more disliked than liked. I suspect Obama has succeeded because, in some ways, he has effectively played both ends against the middle. That's how he got elected. Telling us he'd bring both sides together. He'd change the way Washington operates. But little did he know that the system is corrupt. Maybe even beyond redemption. Things can't be fixed. So we are all losers. --Jim Broede