The Stakes For Obama This Fall

David Broder writes in The Washington Post:

It was probably inevitable that the elections for governor taking place in November in New Jersey and Virginia would be seen by many people outside those states as a referendum on Barack Obama's performance as president.

Those will be the first statewide contests since he entered the White House, and they are taking place in states he won last year. But forces of history and economics add to the presidential stakes in the outcomes.

History: In 1993, a year after the previous Democratic president, Bill Clinton, was elected, Republicans captured Virginia's governorship with George Allen and New Jersey's with Christine Todd Whitman. Their victories set the stage for the GOP takeover of Congress in 1994 that in turn prepared the way for George W. Bush's presidency.

After losing Congress in 2006 and the White House last year, Republicans are desperate for some good news -- and they look to be competitive in both these states.